Anthony Metivier's Blog, page 39

Memory Improvement Tips From Dr. Gary Small

Have you ever wanted simple memory improvement tips that you can use straight out of the box?

If so, then you’re in full a real treat. On this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, Dr. Gary Small offers you some of the best ideas from his book, 2 Weeks to a Younger Brain.

It was such a pleasure speaking with memory training and brain health fitness expert Dr. Small that I’ve had the interview transcribed. You can read it below or download a PDF version of the interview using the link at the bottom of the transcription.

Enjoy!

Why Even The Young Can’t Avoid Memory Loss

 

Anthony: Dr. Small, what is your first memory of being interested in the subject of memory?

 

Dr. Small: Well, I think I got interested in it when I started studying Alzheimer’s disease and geriatrics. When I got into the field of gerontology, I realized that one of the biggest problems we face is cognitive decline as we age. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of that decline. It turns out, before people get Alzheimer’s disease, they have milder memory complaints. There is just so much worry and concern among millions of people about these age-related memory slips and what we can do about them. That’s really how I got started.

 

Anthony: You mentioned in the book that memory can start decaying or getting worse even younger than we think. What is one of the typical ages that memory loss can start to occur?

 

Dr. Small: Usually people begin to notice it in their 40s and studies of neuropsychological testing, pencil and paper tests done on many, many research subjects, has found that for the average 40‑year-old a decline in memory performance can be detected. However, we have done some recent studies, collaborating with Gallop Poll, where we find that people even in their early 20s begin to start complaining about their memory. Now, their complaints are probably different from those of somebody who is in their 70s, but still the methods we’ve developed for the book apply to people of all ages.

 

Anthony: Given this wide age range, is there a common so to speak anti-memory activity that people are engaging in every day and if so what are those things and how can they be treated or how can people go about their daily activities differently so that they are honoring their memories and their brains?

 

Dr. Small: That is really what the book is about and it takes the latest science of the brain and explains it in a way that people can understand. It then translates that science into practical strategies that people can begin using.

 

In the 2-week program, we introduce them to these exercises, strategies and they gradually build up their mental strength, and memory power over that 2-week period and it is just long enough for those exercises to become habit-forming. It involves physical exercise, it involves mental stimulation, stress management, nutrition and learning techniques to compensate for any age-related memory challenges people are experiencing.

 

Can We Really Trust Memory Exercises To Ward Off Alzheimer’s?

 

Anthony: You mentioned a lot of different memory exercises in the book. I am wondering if you have a personal favorite out of them all that addresses some of the prevention of Alzheimer’s and just longevity in general that you enjoy the most that you do yourself?

 

Dr. Small: Let me just clarify. I do not know that the memory exercises will prevent Alzheimer’s, but I think that physical exercise very well may delay the onset of symptoms as will general mental stimulation and proper diet. What the memory exercises will do is to compensate for the decline so people can have a stronger memory longer even as their brains age.

 

Now, if you look at all of these different exercises, it really boils down to two methods that we now call focus and frame. We need to focus our attention because the biggest reason people do not remember is they are simply not paying attention, they are not getting the information into their brains.

 

Frame is shorthand for trying to frame the information, providing a framework so that it has meaning. If something is meaningful, it will become memorable and we do that by using visual images. Our brains are hardwired to remember visually very effectively.

 

We can take a very common memory complaint like names and faces, forgetting names and faces, and teach people how to create visual images to link the name to the face. Therefore, if you meet Mr. Foreman, you might notice that he has a prominent forehead. You notice that distinguishing figure and that links it up with the name in a visual way.

 

The Shocking Truth About Visual Skills And Memory

 

Anthony: Many of the memory exercises do involve some sort of visual imagination, and one thing I hear from a lot of people is that they are just not visual. They are maybe more auditory or kinesthetic or conceptual. Is there any advice you would have who would feel they do not have the visual capacities that many of these exercises seem to call for?

 

Dr. Small: That gets down to a common principle that we want to train and not strain our brains and try to cross-train the brain. Everybody has innate strengths and weaknesses. In areas that are weak, it may be visual skills. Those can be built up gradually. In areas that are strong, we can leverage those strengths to help us compensate better. People who are better with auditory skills can say the name or word to themselves or think up a musical jingle that might help them remember something better.

 

The Minimalist Guide To Einstein’s Brain

 

Anthony: You mentioned in 2 Weeks to a Younger Brain a few times Einstein’s brain and maybe you can describe that a little bit. Why does not everyone have a brain automatically like Einstein’s brain?

 

Dr. Small: I think, to a certain degree, it is genetics. Let us face it some people are Einstein’s at birth and others are not. When they looked at Einstein’s brain remarkably, it looked very much like the average person’s brain except for this area called the corpus callosum, which is the connecting point between the right brain and the left brain. What we might theorize is that Professor Einstein was better able to process information quickly compared to the average person.

 

Another point we make in the book is that genetics is only part of the story. In fact, the MacArthur study on successful aging taught us for the average person nongenetic factors are more important to keeping your brain young. That is why we emphasize all the simple things that people can do every day to get their brains to function better and their memory to be sharper.

 

What Video Games Can Teach You About Strengthening Or Harming Your Brain

 

Anthony: One of the interesting stories in the book is you talk about chiding your son for playing video games and there is a bit of a surprising twist at the end of the story. What is going on with video games and memory?

 

Dr. Small: It is complicated, but we do devote a whole chapter to brain games and what people can do to use them effectively. That was an incident where I was annoyed by my son playing some kind of a violent videogame. Knowing that this kind of repetitive videogame playing may not be great for his developing brain, I shouted to him, “Harry, get off of that video game and come downstairs and watch television with me.”

 

Of course, I thought how ridiculous that sounded, but in my mind, I was thinking we are watching a public television program, it is educational, we will have a conversation, but what I did not realize was that my son was playing the videogame with his friends. There was a conversation going on. It was a social interaction.

 

I think our relationship with this new technology is very complex. In some ways, it can cause wear and tear on our brains when we are spending too much time doing email or searching online doing repetitive tasks. On the other hand, the technology actually augments our biological memory.

 

We could pick and choose what we try to remember like names and faces and socially that is very important, but we do not need to remember birthdates and appointments. We can use programs for that and we can look at a lot of stuff up. In addition, there are new video games that actually train our brains. They can boost IQ or improve multitasking skills. I am very excited about the technology we use it wisely and do not overuse it.

 

How Classy Is The Neighborhood Of Your Brain?

 

Anthony: Speaking of technology, there is something really interesting that you talk about. The brain has kind of a relationship to memory and information where the age of a memory somehow determines where it is located in the brain, and that memories travel from one lobe to the next. I have this picture of sorting files through my computer and they move according to date and rearrange themselves. What is happening in this idea that memories age and then that determines where they are found in the brain?

 

Dr. Small: The brain is very complex organ and there is a lot of neuroscience research understanding how memories are consolidated. We describe how there are very fleeting momentary memories we call sensory memories that we all experience from moment to moment and we do not notice them. If we pay attention, or if there is an emotional component to the memory, it is more likely to be consolidated in an area that is called the hippocampus underneath the temples.

 

Once that happens, it is like an information highway as the memory becomes stronger as it becomes more long-term it moves towards the front part of the brain very gradually. They also reside throughout the brain depending on the type of memory. If it is a visual memory, it will be in the back of the brain because that is where the visual cortex is.

 

 

It is quite an interesting phenomenon. These memories, in a sense, live in neighborhoods, which explain why it is often difficult to remember some information, but when you are reminded of a neighboring memory, then the memory you are looking for comes back to you.

 

Is There A Way To End Your Struggle With “Senior Moments”?

 

Anthony: That is a very interesting metaphor. Given this neighborhood image where do memories go when people are having “senior moments?”

 

Dr. Small: Well they are not going anywhere. Memory is very much like a filing cabinet. You have to file the information in the proper place and know where to look to pull it out. When we cannot find those memories, we are distracted by other memories so we are a little bit mixed up in our filing system, and we need some help in how to locate those files, which many of the memory techniques we teach help us do.

 

Anthony: Well heaven forbid that you were to lose your memory, but if that were to happen, is there one memory in particular that you would never want to lose if all else was to disappear?

 

Dr. Small: Those are such tough questions, and I think to me the memory I would not want to lose is the memory of the emotion of love because I think that is so important to all of us. It is such a strong compelling feeling. It really draws people together and it defines who we are as a species. Humans are very social animals and those positive emotions that we experience really make life so worthwhile.

 

Anthony: Speaking of love I really loved 2 Weeks to a Younger Brain. I am grateful and honored that you gave us the time to speak about your book for the audience of this podcast. What is coming up for you next?

 

Dr. Small: In the short term, I am doing a public lecture on the book this afternoon. I am continuing my research on memory and brain aging. My wife and I are continuing to work on a monthly newsletter, Dr. Gary Small’s Mind Health Report. We are putting our heads together for the next book. We have not quite decided what we are going to do but it will probably be in the general area where our interests lie and we are looking forward to continuing our work together.

 

Anthony: Great. Well again thank you so much and 2 Weeks to a Younger Brain is such an excellent book. I hope everybody listening goes out and gets it.

 

Dr. Small: Thank you and I appreciate it.

 

Further Resources

PDF transcript of this exclusive Magnetic Memory Method Interview with Dr. Gary Small

Dr. Small talking about his book, The Alzheimer’s Prevention Program.

More books by Dr. Small

For more memory improvement tips directed at brain health on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, check out this episode directed at university students dealing with depression.

Improving Memory And The Moral Obligations Of Memory Improvement

A lot of people suffer from a “bad memory.”

Me too.

If I don’t use the simple memory improvement techniques I’ve learned, my memory has about the same chance as a dog hearing “sit” once without a shred of repetition. It doesn’t do much good for improving memory.

But we’re not dogs. And we have memory techniques. We can hear something once and memorize it forever.

And without being dramatic or theatrical (a rare thing for me, dear Memorizers), I can tell you that I think that not developing the skill to do so is a crime against humanity.

Failing to memorize using the simple techniques I teach robs not only yourself, but many others of the benefits of this powerful skill.

Plus, you get to share information that you’ve placed in your mind. Valuable knowledge that you can produce at will. Change the world kind of stuff.

Or it can be the memorize of simple things that makes a huge difference.

Like when you’re boarding a plane and you keep forgetting your seat number, holding up the line to look at your ticket for the umpteenth time.

Or when your child asks you what year some important event took place for his or her exam at school (major).

Or when you’re playing Blackjack and you have no idea how many cards are out (could be major, could be minor depending on your pot).

Or when you’re talking to someone and you have to ask them for a second time what their name is, sometimes just 30 seconds or less after the first time you heard it …

This final point is a real doozy.

Memorizing names is a moral obligation because it tells the person you’re meeting that you care about who they are, that they’re someone worth knowing, that their name has value.

Some names are easy.

You don’t need a special method to memorize Tom, Dick or Harry (at least most of us probably don’t).

But the world is becoming more and more internationalized.

We’re meeting more and more people with name structures that we’re not familiar with. And we need to be able to remember them in to be more sociable and to ensure that people know we value them in the daily interactions we make.

It’s not that difficult. Hear a name, make a bizarre, exaggerated, big and bright picture filled with zany action and you’ll have that name memorized in a Magnetic second.

That’s the basics of one of the techniques.

As you know, there are many others.

And a lot of fine details that structure each. It makes a huge difference if you know what they are and how to use them.

That’s why I’m making the crazy offer of joining the Masterclass for the trial price of $1. For just a buck, you get 7 days access to the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass.

That’s seven days to work on improving your memory. Seven days to feel the power of memory improvement. Click here for more info and a lesson on 8 Important Memory Principles You Should Follow.

How to Memorize Things Fast Using These Time Management Tips

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, time management master Tor Refsland from Timemanagementchef.com teaches you how to make ample space in your day for creating, using and benefiting from Memory Palaces and shows you how to memorize things in record time. Take it away Tor!

You’ve finally made the decision.

You are going to improve your memory by building a Memory Palace and learn how to memorize things fast using memory techniques. 

You are so excited! You know that learning how to memorize things fast will give you the unfair advantage compared to the rest of the world.

So you close your eyes and start to dream of your new future.

The feeling of being able to impress your family and friends by reciting stored information as if you were a super computer can only be described with two words …


Freakin’ Awesome!

Perhaps your friends will be so impressed that they will insist on buying you drinks every time you go out.

 And your parents might finally realize that you are the prodigy among your siblings and make you the sole inheritor of your family`s legacy.

There is only one problem.

You are a victim of one of the biggest success crushing myths…

 

You THINK you don’t have time.

 

But if I could prove to you that you actually have more than enough time to learn memory techniques, would that be interesting to you?

If so, then read every single word of this post, because it could really change your life.

Let me show you how to find time to create a Memory Palace and start using it in record time.

 



How To Create More Time

 

Since we all only have 24 hours per day, time is our most important asset.

But you already know that.

The real issue is that you are super busy and your schedule is packed, right?

Welcome to the club!

That is why creating more time is the most important skill you will ever learn.

But before I move on and tell you how to create more time, let me start by explaining my definition of productivity.

 

This Productivity Formula Will Double And Even Triple Your Free Time For Using The Magnetic Memory Method

 

Time period x Goals achieved = Productivity

Your productivity is the total sum of the goals you achieve in a certain period of time. 

There are only two ways to improve your productivity:

– you can achieve the same goals in a shorter period of time

– you can achieve more goals in the same amount of time

If you want to become a productivity superstar you can dramatically increase your own productivity by shortening the period of time and increasing the amount of goals you achieve.

That is the exactly what I did when I increased my own productivity by 200%.

200% is insane.

If you could experience the same boost, that means you would increase your productivity by four times!

Using this formula, I now do in 2 hours what I normally used to do in 8 hours.

 

The Surprising Tip That Will Free Up Your Time – Fast!

 

So how do we actually create more time?

 Let me give you a quick crash course.

 There are 3 components that will help you create more time:

1. Planning and prioritizing

The experts say that every minute spent in planning will save you 10 minutes in execution.

In my article at Successful Blogging I talk about planning and prioritizing.

 For example, you can use the ABCDE method to prioritize your tasks:

A: Tasks I must do – serious consequences if it doesn’t get done

B: Tasks I should do – mild consequences if it doesn’t get done

C: Tasks I could do – no consequences if it doesn’t get done

D: Tasks I delegate

E: Tasks I never do

Never do a B task before you have done all the A tasks. Likewise, never do a C task before you have done all the B tasks, etc.

And apply the 80/20 rule: you need to identify each day, which 20% of the tasks on your to do list will give you 80% of the results.

By starting to implement the tactics above, you can literally increase your productivity with 100 % over night.

2. Focus


One of the most important skills when it comes to becoming more productive and achieving your goals in a shorter period of time, is the ability to focus.

As I talk about in my article on Blogging Wizard, true focus comes with some requirements.

In order to be able to laser focus, you have to:
- knowing what to do (work from a plan – to do list)

remove all distractions (mute your cellphone and turn off Internet connections)no multitasking
- focus on only one task until it`s done

3. Increase productivity


Increasing productivity means that we are able to increase our results in a shorter period of time.

Becoming more productive is key when it comes to freeing up more time in your life, so you can spend it on practicing memory techniques.

On Skip Prichard’s site, I’ve talked about one important factor – a factor that can change everything once you understand it.

Studies have shown that most people are most productive the first 2 hours after they get out of bed in the morning.

Some people are most productive in the evening or perhaps during the night.

What does this mean?

It means you have to identify at WHAT time you are the most productive.

Then you have to reserve that period of time for your most important tasks.

 This will literally turbo boost your productivity.

In combination with the time management and productivity techniques you’ve just learned, to improve your memory fast …

 

You Need The Right Tools

 

When Anthony asked me to write a guest post for his great website, I asked him for more information regarding the memorizing technique topic. 

He recommended that I read one of his posts about creating and populating a Memory Palace.

Needless to say, Anthony Metivier is one of the best in the business when it comes to helping people learn how to memorize things fast.

So what did I do?

I read the article and decided to use my productivity formula, then I got cranking.

 


How To Create A Memory Palace

 

Since I had never created a Memory Palace before, I wasn`t aiming for a world class Memory Palace.

But as a time management and productivity expert, “how long will it take to create a Memory Palace?” was the first question that came to mind.

My next question was, “where should I start my path through the Memory Palace?”

To keep things simple and quick, I decided to use my most familiar place.

So I drew an outline of my apartment, and set a station in every corner of every room. 

To make sure the Memory Palace followed the Magnetic Memory Method principles, I made the starting point in my Memory Palace the front door.

In order to keep my path linear, I made sure to create the journey so that I always follow the right side of the wall. 
 
A couple more decisions later, I had built my first Memory Palace.

And by using a simple system and applying a step-by-step process, I created a simple 32 stations memory palace in 10 minutes!

My success felt awesome!

I thought I was going to spend at least 30-40 minutes on it! 

But 32 stations in just 10 minutes? That`s incredible.

Will you be able to complete your first Memory Palace in less than 10 minutes?

If you follow the principles, I don’t see why not.

The most important thing is that you ask the same questions I asked myself and then complete your Memory Palace as soon as possible.

And remember the following:

use a familiar settingnot world class, just applicablekeep it simple

– move around in the Memory Palace in a logical manner

If you haven`t created a Memory Palace, please spend up to 10 and no more than 15 minutes to create it now.

Have you done it?

Awesome.

Okay, what`s next?

Then it`s time to…

 


Populate the Memory Palace
 With Killer Information!

 

As with most things in life, the more passionate you are about the subject, the easier it will be to remember.

Since I`m a time management expert, I don’t spend my time on anything that doesn’t either save me a lot of time, or give me a good amount of value for the time I have spent. 

I’m always about getting the biggest ROI (return on investment).

After all, what’s the point of building a Memory Palace only to populate it with boring, trivial information that you almost NEVER use?

In addition, your first Memory Palace should consist of information that won`t get outdated and that you won’t need to switch out. 

The best information to memorize is the information you want to hold in memory forever. And because it’s important and excites you, this will increase the speed and intensity you bring to the memorization process.

So what did I do?

I had the following criteria:

passionate about the topicimportant informationinformation that I use often
- static information (information that doesn`t change)

Since I have my own blog where I write about time management, I needed to pick a topic that would be useful for my business.

I ended up with headline templates for blog posts.

Notice, I didn’t say headlines.

I said headline templates.



Why?

Because knowing X amount of headline templates is better, than knowing the same amount of headlines (which you would need to dissect, analyze and convert into a template anyway, if you wanted to use each headline in the best way possible).

No need to recite the best headlines ever made, if you can`t apply their formula? Right?

And as you continue reading, you might want to think how memorizing templates might help you in your studies or profession.

For my purposes, I decided to memorize 8 headline templates from Jon Morrow’s free 52 Headline Hacks:

1. The Zen of X

2. Can`t keep up? The 11 Ways to Simplify Your X

3. How to Take Charge of Your X

4. The Minimalist Guide to X

5. 10 Shortcuts for (CTP – completing tedious process) in Record Time

6. Get Rid of (recurring problem) Once and for All

7. How to End X

8. How to X in 5 Minutes

After 30 minutes I had memorized them.

 

All of them!

 

How did I remember them
?

I started with memorizing bullet point 1 with a vivid picture. Then I recited bullet point 1 and created bullet point 2. And so on.

It looked like this:

1. Memorize bullet point 1

2. Recite bullet point 1 – memorize bullet point 2

3. Recite bullet points 1 and 2 – memorize bullet point 3

4. Recite bullet points 1 – 3 – memorize bullet point 4

5. Recite bullet points 1 – 4 – memorize bullet point 5

6. Recite bullet points 1 – 5 – memorize bullet point 6

7. Recite bullet points 1 – 6 – memorize bullet point 7

8. Recite bullet points 1 – 7 – memorize bullet point 8

It looks rather easy, right?

No degree in rocket science needed here.

Just following a simple system will do the trick.

 

How To Find Time To Maintain Your Memory Palace

 

In order for you to train your memory and to be able to find and recite the necessary information even quicker, you want to take a walk in your Memory Palace daily.

How do you find the time for doing this?

Spend the time that you are already using on other routine activities.

You can recite your whole Memory Palace and everything in it while you do your morning routine, when you are taking the commute or when you are working out.

I would recommend going through your Memory Palaces once a day at the same time everyday.

Think about it.

You will be brushing your teeth no matter what. Why not take a morning stroll through your Memory Palace at the same time?

You may be thinking:

Okay, Tor, I get it.

But when do I find time to expand my Memory Palace?

Well, let`s cover that in the next section…

 

How To Find Time To Expand Your Memory Palace

 

When to expand your Memory Palace, depends on your need.

However, when you are a beginner when it comes to using memory techniques I would recommend to start slowly.

The most important thing is to actually build your first Memory Palace and maintain it by reciting it daily (for example, as part of your morning routine).

You can for instance put new bullet points into your Memory Palace every Saturday after breakfast, or when you are doing commute or working out.

When exactly you do this depends on the schedule you have set for yourself in order to reach your specific goals.

 

Remember …

 

… the most important thing is to have fun and to just start applying it. 

If you set a schedule that is too hard when it comes to expanding your Memory Palace, you will become fed up and probably look at it as a tedious, boring task.

But it should be neither tedious nor boring. 

There’s too much to gain by expanding your memory, increasing your brain capacity, boosting your confidence and saving time reciting stored information.

In addition to the benefits above, I know that when you are willing to set aside time, you can learn whatever skill you want.

Now you have the recipe for how to create a Memory Palace, how to memorize things fast and how to do both in record time.

So get out there, expand your memory and have fun!

If you want to learn how to create more time, click here to get my free eBook Insane Productivity Hacks and learn how to DOUBLE your productivity in 7 days.

 

Increase Memory By Taking Action The Magnetic Memory Method Way

To Everyone Who Secretly Believes That The Powers Needed To Increase Memory Will Magically Fall From The Sky …

It’s true. Some people believe that you can get something for nothing.

But luckily not everyone.

Some people grab the Magnet by the poles and take action.

Not only that, but they take the right action.

What is the “right action”? you ask.

That’s what this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast is all about, so please be sure to listen to every word because it may be the most important episode you ever hear. Then build your first Memory Palace and start using it.

And for your convenience, here’s the letter I received in writing. It forms the basis of the episode.

Give Me A Bit, I’ll Be Swimming Soon EnoughI received your postcard. Thank you very much for that. It means a lot and says a lot about you. It was a very nice surprise and seemed to add a sense of realism to you, your efforts and products, and support. It basically makes you a human and not just some guy on the internet. So, for that, thank you. I will use it accordingly, when I learn that part. I have learned much so far and it has been some serious amounts of work and I’m trying to think of it as good work.Right now, I am still creating memory palaces and moving through them. My approach to just about everything is the same. I infuse some knowledge with confusion, then repeat it to the point of clarity. I liken it to going swimming here in the cold Michigan lakes. Even on the hottest of days, all anyone has to do in order to cool off, is walk, jump or run, into any one of the 11, 500 lakes located here. There are also five, enormous “Great Lakes” that are much more preferable for swimming. Anyhow, rather than jumping in and cooling down immediately, I tend to go: “Now, is it really that hot? I mean, really???  Ok, let’s go to the beach.” Then I have to grab towels, apply sunscreen, get a couple bottles of water from the gas station, and of course fill my gas tank which is usually low. Get to the beach, find a place among hundreds of other people yet still inconspicuous. Then, finally approach the water. If it is too cold, I have to go in several times but only up to my ankles. Meanwhile, the rest of me is burning hot, nearly sun – scorched and screaming “you got everything you need, just get in the water and splash around.” But … I don’t! I wait and double check the water because cooling down cannot possibly be as simple as just going in. After about a dozen times of working my way up to thigh level water and retreating back to shore, I have exhausted my patience and just run and jump in and realize that I should have done so all along. Right now, I’m about up to my ankles in confusion and repetition in your Magnetic Memory Method, but I have my towels, swim trunks, and sandals. Give me a bit, I’ll be swimming soon enough.  For me, I have have doubts, as to whether or not I’m doing something correctly or not. I know a lot of that uncertainty stems from “having a bad immediate memory”, as I call it. Basically, I tend to forget the initial reasoning behind a particular idea or course of action and thus have trouble following through with the initial intended results as my needs, views and reasoning, all change along the way to the intended goal. It’s not as ADHD as it may sound. I think it is just simply not remembering enough general information to justify the actions needed to move forward in life (or progress in a particular field of study). I have been blindly moving about, normally…job, mortgage, family and some other “normal” things. That, mixed with time constraints, have led me to minimize expectations for myself, again forgetting to do more. With that, I have learned a lot from assisting my wife in her collegiate studies and have relaized this lack of memory use has been such a waste, and quite frankly, lame. So, once again, your methods and information are exactly what I needed and I thank you for all your help.  Sorry, for the long winded rant. In my defense, I did just have two cups of coffee.  Alright, I’m off to do some memory work. Thank you again for taking the time to hand write and send a postcard. The Only Way To Get ResultsSo as you can see, taking action is the best action. It’s the only way to get results if your goal is to increase memory.And if you’d like to get some of my Magnetic postcard goodness, registration info for the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass is waiting for you right here.Further Resources:

How to Escape the Prison Of Memory And Create The Future You Desire

Memory Strategies For Your Nightlife And Why I Don’t Do Lucid Dreaming

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

People around the world wish they could remember their dreams. And not just remember them.

They want to remember their dreams with clarity, consistency and in ways that change their lives. Profoundly.

Yet few will ever develop the skills needed to recall their dreams consistently. The consequence is that they will never take part in one of the world’s most prominent languages: the language of dreaming.

Worse, they will never experience the nuances and layers of experience made possible by advanced dream recall.

Why is dream recall such a struggle? Many would-be dreamers blame a lack of sleep time. They don’t have enough time in bed for effective dreaming. But with proper training in dream recall, you can learn to notice yourself entering the dream world even before you’ve fallen “unconscious.”

Don’t believe the REM myth that dreaming begins at some special hour after you’re in deep sleep. The notion that dreaming only occurs during REM has never been true. In fact, you are dreaming right now but have not yet learned to see and experience it.

In short, dream recall begins by changing your definition of what counts as a dream.

But even with an improved definition (you’re always dreaming), some still claim that dream recall is too hard. And no doubt. Authors on the top don’t make it easy.

They teach that you should draw symbols on your hand, practice “reality checking” and engage in other tedious methods. The truth is that you don’t need to artificially create “triggers.” There are better ways, more enlightening and elucidating ways, and ways that can improve all aspects of your life.

So what helps with dream recall?

1. A Dedicated Memory Strategy For Remembering Your Dreams

Strategy starts with motivation, so before you start, please make sure that you really want to remember your dreams. It’s an important consideration because you learn a lot about yourself when you recall dreams at an advanced level.

And you motivation requires method if you’re going to experience real gains as you stretch your memory muscles.

2. Believe That Dream Memory Strategies Will Work For You

People often tell me that they cannot remember any dreams. They never have and never will.

But such statements usually come from disbelief. Dream recall has been going on for thousands of years using different techniques. If you can accept that you’re not different than anyone else, your memory will amaze you with what you can achieve.

Try out the main technique discussed in this episode of the podcast and you will marvel at the progress you’ll make.

3. Stop Thinking That Memory Strategies Are Too Much Work

You will need 1-5 minutes every morning to practice the dream recall technique talked about in this podcast. There’s nothing to it. You only have to do it over a period of two or three days to get results. Often, you’ll get results as soon as the next day.

The best part is that once you start, dream recall will serve your life in many ways.

So I have a suggestion for you before you finish the podcast and start your journey toward advanced dream memorization skills.

Believe in yourself.

When I started working on dream recall, I told myself it wouldn’t work. I wasted a lot of time with this false belief.

But once I settled into the practice, dream recall hooked me. The ability to remember your dreams with near-100% accuracy creates wonderful things for you. And it opened the world’s doors for me. It also healed me in many ways and changed how I view reality. As a result of dream recall, I am more a positive, productive and contributing member of society. And I’m confident that becoming an effective dream memorizer will do the same for you.

Please note that I’m not talking about anything “New Agey” or “NLP-ish.” I base the dream recall techniques and related approaches I teach on scientifically demonstrated principles known to increase the happiness of individuals.

Dreams remain essential to the human experience. And those with an advanced ability to engage with their dreams experience greater pleasure and more interesting lives.

So I hope that you will take the time to practice dream recall after listening to this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. And if it changes how you think about lucid dreaming, let me know. You can also check out the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass for more information about advanced dream recall.

Further Resources

Lucid dream article on Wikipedia

A dreamy article about using movies and series as Memory Palaces

How To Enhance Memory And Pass Any Test Or Exam

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

Ever Felt That Skull Melting Stress When Preparing For An Exam?

If so, this may be the most important information you ever hear and read. Download the episode and keep reading this post all the way to the end so that you never struggle with passing an exam again.

And if your schools days are over and you’re the parent of a student, be their hero and pass this information onto them.

How The Regeneration Of Your Cells Can Set The Stage For Making Your Memory Razor Sharp

Wanna know why you forget so much of the information you read?

It’s because we miss so much detail when we only listen or read a book once.

Not only that, but you’re a different person the second time around.

I learned this from my Uncle Walter. Unfortunately, he died in a train wreck, but he told me something I’ve never forgotten:

Read the most important books you’ve encountered at least once every seven years.

Every cell in your body will have been replaced, and you’ll be coming to it as a completely new human being.

In any case, I’ve taken Walter’s advice to heart, but when it comes to podcasts and audiobooks and learning how to enhance memory, it’s possible to revisit them much sooner.

And I love using Audiobook Builder by Splasm in conjunction with my iPhone so that I can get in all that info super-fast without affecting the sound quality.

And today’s Q&A gives us the opportunity to talk about how to use this software in combination with the regeneration of your cells to learn and memorize everything you need to pass any exam:

Schoolwork Can Be A Ball

———-

Dear Anthony,

When memorizing textbooks, is there a good general guideline as to what key points to place in memory palaces? Only focusing on the most relevant information is a great way to save time when studying, and I am curious if you have a strategy as to what information is placed in a memory palace using your index card method. Are these key ideas derived from what is taught in lectures, or are they based on what is most interesting to you?

I have downloaded your video course Memory Secrets of an A+ student as well as read many books on memory, and your methods make learning and memorizing more fun and effective. I discovered that schoolwork can be a ball no matter what the subject is, all thanks to me stumbling upon you website.

———-

This question is great.

And there are a lot of ways to answer it. For example, How To Memorize A Textbook remains the most popular episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.

But for now, the first thing I would say is that …

A Good Lecturer Will Make It Clear To You What Key Ideas Are Coming

For example, I used to write down all the “keywords” on the side of the chalkboard in a column. Students could literally “read” what I was saying and match them against the keywords. It seemed really effective because when the final quiz arrived, hardly anyone had trouble getting 98% or higher.

Not all lecturers do things like this, or even present structured talks. Sometimes I don’t either because I like to use tangents and ask questions in the middle of a lecture. In cases like these, it’s a matter of listening for what jumps out at you.

I also recommend taking no notes and recording the lecture. Some nice professors will even allow you to place your recording device on the podium.

If not, you can still get a decent recording if you sit in the first row.

And what are you going to do instead of taking notes?

Harness The Secret Power Of Doodling

Seriously. Give it a try.

Your mind will “scan” what’s being heard, and when something strikes you as a key point, write down one or two words in the middle of your doodle.

You can mindmap too if you want, but I like doodling.

Or sketching.

I find that I can listen intently and deeply when doing this.

In fact, I’d hazard a guess that I’m paying far more attention than anyone else in the room precisely because I’ve got more than one representation center of my brain operating.

At least, that’s my speculation. And that speculation is a key part of learning how to enhance memory in many respects.

Here’s What To Do Next

Go home and listen to the lecture again with a Memory Palace prepared, and a stack of index cards as described in the How to Memorize a Textbook episode of the podcast.

If you’ve been given additional reading as part of the lecture, you might want to do that reading first before returning to the lecture.

Again, the most important information is going to be the stuff that leaps out at you as the most interesting first.

Why?

Because you’re more likely to remember this information without the assistance of mnemonics and Memory Palaces. You won’t have to go to the Method of Loci for this stuff – though later you can if you want. And it’s just good practice to do so.

But the point is that you go to your Memory Palaces primed with interest.

That will make your memory Magnetic.

And that way, the not so interesting stuff will stick with greater ease because you’ll be using the power of familiar locations and well-constructed Memory Palace principles.

And you’ll be connecting it to what interests you. But of course …

A Lot Depends On What The Instructor Is Looking For

So if you want to be a cutting edge student, here’s what you’ve got to do:

Go to the instructor.

Make an appointment if you have to.

Then ask the instructor to make the evaluation criteria clear to you. He or she may have a specific rubric.

And if you can – record this talk!

Why?

Because when you hand in your work or answer questions on an exam that don’t give you the results you were expecting, you have a record of this conversation.

Of course, you don’t want your teachers to feel like they’re under observation in a totalitarian state, but the fact of the matter is that you (or your parents) are paying their wages.

You deserve to have the requirements made available to you in crisp, clear and sparkling detail.

And That’s How You Know What To Focus On In Your Studies

It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

To review:

1) Pay attention to the things that jump out at you. If you’re interested in these details, they’ll be much more Magnetic. You’ll be memorizing them more for detail and ordered recall than anything else. They’ll also be a great “connecting” device for incorporating the information that you don’t find so interesting.

2) Know what the instructor wants and make sure you’ve memorized that information. When learning how to enhance memory for your studies, it only makes sense to focus on the information they want you to know. The rest is icing on the cake.

3) Come prepared with a well-formed Memory Palace. If you don’t know how, scroll up to the top of the page and register for my free Memory Palace Mastery course.

4) Perform proper Recall Rehearsal

5) Listen to this podcast with Scott Gosnell. He talks about a very special way to build a Memory Palace for prepping for exams.

I hope this guidance helps you out. Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Further Resources

Note: The program mentioned at the end of this presentation is no longer available. A modified version of Memory Secrets of an A+ Student (now called Masterplan) can be found in the Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass. If you’re interested in taking that memory training, here’s where to go next:

Magnetic Memory Method Masterclass

How To Escape The Prison Of Memory And Create The Future You Desire

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

Have you ever found yourself caged in the prison of memory?

In this episode of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast, I’m not talking about being trapped in a Memory Palace or anything about memory techniques.

I’m talking about how memory can hold you back and keep you down. Like when it leads to avoiding doing new things because someone you know frowned upon it. Or you hold on to a unwanted behaviour because you can’t shake the memories surrounding how you learned it.

A myriad of consequences result. These include avoiding new experiences. Treating others poorly because your parents burned certain responses in your mind. Repeating destructive behaviors. Yes, memory can be a terrible jailor.

The Good News Is That There Are Ways To Break Free

In case you’re foggy on what I’m getting at, let me tell you a story about a friend of mine. Sadly, he died a few years ago from cancer.

And I miss him. He had a fierce personality, incredible intelligence and acidic wit that that burned impressions into your mind.

Although the cancer killed him, these aspects of his personality went untouched until almost the end. The disease got into his brain and then the friend I had known for so long was suddenly no more. It is a strange thing to wait for a body to die after the person him or herself is already gone.

“The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.”

- Marcus Tullius Cicero

But that’s the power of memory.

Because even though my friend was gone, one thing stuck with me. It shaped my behavior, and although “prison” is perhaps too strong a word, these remembered things helped me act as my own jailor.

During my friend’s long and valiant period of chemotherapy, I had finished a research and teaching grant in Film Studies. I had moved back to Canada from Germany and had no idea and struggled with finding a new teaching gig.

I had three promising interviews at universities, and was almost hired at one of them. But when that didn’t pan out, I was lost. I didn’t know what to do.

Even through all his pain and suffering, my friend held fast to his conviction that I was a teacher. We’d gotten our BA degrees together. I had watched him go through law school and start a practice as he watched me soar to the heights of a PhD and major research grant.

And although I couldn’t offer a solution for his cancer, he tried to help me during his darkest days. Together, we came up together with the idea of getting a teaching certificate for high school. I rejected it the second I said it, but he encouraged it.

More than encourage it, it sometimes seemed that he lived through my experiences. We talked so much and had been so close for so many years that it was often as if I was not acting alone. So as I accepted the idea and made preparations for going back to school, it became more about him than me.

If You Have To Lower Your Standards, You’re In The Wrong Place

Eating on the remaining funds from my research grant while housesitting to get by, I volunteered in local high schools because you need to teach under observation. Even though I had taught at universities for years, I still needed to get the proper letters of recommendation from high school level teachers. Otherwise, I could not apply for the education program at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. These were strange experiences because I was expected to treat the young students far below their obvious abilities.

Whereas I had been used to challenging university students to stretch beyond their comfort zones, I was now expected to spoon feed Victorian era education to young people living in the age of the Internet. It was a false portrait of how I understand the world, but I still worked at painting myself into it.

In case you’ve never been, it’s at the top of a large hill, surrounded by the beautiful mountains of British Columbia where I’m from. The buses huff and puff to reach the top and every trip feels like a cross-country adventure.

And it was a painful place to visit. I had no office, no classroom to teach in and no classroom to learn in.

“Many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen,

few in pursuit of the goal.”

- Friedrich Nietzsche

I made the journey many times to submit registration papers and pay registration fees. I often spoke with my friend on the phone during these trips. Each time our discussions reinforced the importance of me being a teacher come hell or highwater. The more voluntary teaching while eating rice and tuna and being stressed out over every dime wore me down, the weaker my conviction grew.

And because money was running out, I started seeking a job. Any job. Because I had worked as a store detective as one of my ways to pay for university the first time around, that’s the route I went. But I couldn’t get anything better than a uniformed security guard position.

There’s nothing wrong with being a security guard. But having stood at the podiums of major universities to lecture in front of hundreds of students, monitoring the behaviors of thousands of shoppers in Metrotown mall …

“Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves.

But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still,

small voice says to us, something is out of tune.”

- Carl Jung

Even with Jung’s wisdom in tow, it felt like a step down in the world.

And I must admit that I was ashamed as I stood in front of a mirror wearing the ill-fitting white shirt, black dress pants with the ridiculous stripe down the side and pseudo-military shoes. Which is why I tossed the uniform into a clothing donation bin on the way to my first day at work.

Of course, I realized that tossing the uniform was illegal to let a uniform of authority out of my possession like that and the property wasn’t mine to dispose. But the story of how I got the uniform back out of the donation bin and in the hands of the employer is a story for another day.

As is the story of eventually drumming up some cash doing magic on the streets and convincing Haydee Windey to hire me at ELIT after applying three times. She’s the one who gave me the keys to her school, an office to write in and students to teach memory techniques as part of their literary education and ultimately the Magnetic Memory Method. It was for these students that I wrote everything down in what would become the first book in the Magnetic Memory Method Series.

But again, a story for another time.

“Hard times arouse an instinctive desire for authenticity.”

- Coco Chanel

When my application to the education program at Simon Fraser was rejected, I was completely lost. Because I couldn’t get into the program, I couldn’t get a student loan. Without a student loan, I wouldn’t be able to survive much longer and I couldn’t housesit forever. No one would make me go live on the streets, but the pressure from all sides made it feel like I was going in that direction.

And I had my bipolar disorder on top of that to deal with too. The doctor I found refused to give me my medication for longer than 30 days so he could monitor my moods and I had no time to find another one. It had already taken long enough to find this one, Plus, this doctor was … Well, that again is a story for another day.

But my friend did not let me give up. He convinced me to appeal the university’s decision. This meant more painful trips to the campus for meetings and forms and registration fees.

And it was during this time that I started teaching at ELIT. As an after school program that fills in the gaps left by the school system, it was a blessing. I admired the place, its students and the parents who want their kids to have a better chance.

But I was still pushing for a place in the Education program at Simon Fraser University.

And my friend’s belief that I could get into the education program if I fought for it proved true. But after Haydee allowed me to teach at ELIT the way I wanted to teach …

“I don’t often veer away from a big melodic song with big

words for big stadiums.”

- Robbie Williams

I couldn’t stomach the idea of offering students anything less than the teaching I’m capable of giving. Of course, Haydee was nervous at first when she saw me writing terms like “architectonic tautology” on the whiteboards of her classrooms. But I proved that the students were up to my university-level challenges time after time.

And yet I still went ahead with the Education program. I braced myself for the classes I was about to attend that would teach me how to teach according to grade levels decided upon by the government.

Then, one morning on my way to ELIT and six weeks before the education program would begin, I got the call. My friend had died.

Years later, I still mourn his passing. But I never mourn the fact that I betrayed his final wish for my future.

For six weeks, my stomach churned every day at the future before me. I went up and down that hill to get textbooks and study for my courses in advance. It all felt wrong.

Yet the memory of all those conversations with my friend held fast. And the idea that teaching high school now would prepare the stage for a victorious re-entry to university teaching years later echoed in my ears.

But the logic was false. Why suffer now and take part in an education system I know in my heart is broken so that I could enjoy my earlier career later? It made no sense.

And yet, on the first day of classes, I found myself on the bus winding up the hill, imprisoned by the ghost of all those discussions with my friend.

“The only person who is educated is the one who

has learned how to learn and change.”

- Carl Rogers

But even though I went up the campus, I didn’t go to that first class. I didn’t even leave the bus bay. With tears burning in my eyes and the feeling that there must be a better way to find my place in the world I got off one bus and stepped onto another and headed back into the city.

Just as I had dumped the security guard uniform in the donation bin, I left the wishes of another person behind on the bus bay at Simon Fraser University. I left the future and unhappy identity it would have created behind. And I’d like to think that I honored my friend by doing my own thing instead of his.

And because I freed myself from the memory of those conversations with my friend and the conviction he had about my teaching high school, I’ve since educated more people in a few short years than I could have during an entire career as a high school teacher. More than 41,000 people have read a book or taken a Magnetic Memory Method course.

And with nearly a quarter million podcast downloads and YouTube views and hundreds of comments and reviews, I think it’s fair to say that I made the right decision.

“I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a

thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”

- Harriet Tubman

The other route would have delivered me into Slave’s Luck, defined as making it into a career you actually hate.

So what ghosts and memories are powering your behaviors against your own wishes and desires? Take a moment to think about what advices, words of wisdom or the wishes of others might be holding you down.

And then write down what you really want from your life. If you had no pressure from family or friends and had all the resources needed to be fully you and play out your wildest and most fulfilling dreams, what would those be?

For me it was always to write books and correspond with my readers. I remember in grade 8 reading Ray Bradbury talking about all the mail he received and how he answered every letter. I thought then as I think now that this exactly what I want to do.

“Writing in a journal … offers a place where you can hold a deliberate,

thoughtful conversation with yourself.”

- Robin S. Sharma

But before I got there, I had to go through the exercise of writing down what my true dreams are every day.

And so that’s what I want you to do. And do it every day for at least 90 days.

If you can’t do that, then you know what you’ve chosen isn’t really your dream. No amount of knowledge or use of memory techniques is ever going to change that fact.

So as you write every day, refine your dream and your vision of what you want to do. Sooner or later you’ll find what you really want, that thing you can describe again and again for at least 90 days.

And as you do so, your unconscious mind will start finding opportunities to get you what you want. I’m convinced of it, but you need to try. It’s one of the most rewarding experiments you’ll ever make.

And it’ll be totally unforgettable too.

So let me know how you fare and until next time, keep Magnetic.

Memory Techniques Are Big In Japan

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

How To Build Memory Palaces – Even If Your Home Is Microscopic!

It’s true. House in Japan is notoriously tiny.

And that can make it challenging to use them for effective Memory Palace construction.

As always, however, I’ve got a solution to suggest. Today’s podcast Q&A will give you plenty of ideas that will boost your success no matter how small your abode may be.

And the best part is that you can read the entire episode right here too!

Your Cramped Home Is Bigger Than You Think

Hello Anthony,

I am just having a few obstacles come up with completing the worksheet and building the foundations of the Memory Palaces. For example, I know that I have been living at various spots throughout my life, but maybe I am not so confident about the layout of say, the school I attended, or the shopping mall I visited, etc.

How vivid and detailed do these locations have to be in order for them to qualify as a Memory Palace?

Obviously, these places are in my memory, but it has been years since I have been physically there, and in other cases as much as 10+ years since I visited them.

Another question would be about distance. What if I cannot remember in detail where things are in my journey of the Memory Palace? For example, walking around campus in my University. Things that I do remember are sometimes far apart from each other. Also, I am just naming spots, like the library, the parking lot, etc. I can probably go online and look at a map and that would most likely jog my memory as I mentally walk through the campus, and it would have the proper names of the buildings and the locations.

How do I not get crossed up in a cramped area like my apartment? I live in Japan, and things are unbelievable tight in these apartments. This could be a real challenge. Are there strategies for not getting crossed up when memorizing the layout of a memory palace. Do we stay on one side of the wall or walkway and exit through the other side?

For example, the school I work at now. How would I navigate this? (I could also pdf you a map of the layout). Imagine a Square with one side missing. And classrooms go down to the end of each side.

How do I not get crossed up walking over the same path here? This has me a bit confused.

Also, are we walking or are we flying / floating through our Memory Palaces since walking through large spaces like a Shopping Mall, or a University Campus, or an Amusement Park would take too much time to navigate?

Thank you so much for your help and support.

How To Wake Up Your Imagination And Make Even A Fishbowl Seem Like A Football Stadium In Your Mind

Thanks for this question!

Ultimately, a lot of these questions will be answered by experience. But based on my own experience, I can tell you this and then expand on some ideas: I personally don’t need my Memory Palaces to be so vivid.

However, when I take the time to go through various exercises I’ve created (or heard about from Magnetic Memory Method readers and course participants), each Memory Palace becomes more vivid. And the effects are more immediate, intense and long-lasting.

The exercises are simple, but depend upon being relaxed. In fact, all of the technical strategies aside, the number one piece of Magnetic Magic underlying the Magnetic Memory Method is relaxation.

The Surprising Techniques That Makes Everything As Easy As Whip Cream

So here’s what to do first: Get yourself in a relaxed state. Use mediation, Pendulum Breathing, progressive-muscle relation and any other principles you know. Everything will come together.

Once you’re in a relaxed state, all you need to do is wander through the Memory Palaces. Figure out if you can take a journey through the Memory Palace in a way that follows the Magnetic Memory principles of not crossing your path and not trapping yourself.

The journey can be simple or relatively complex so long as these principles are in effect, and you can make a natural journey. I also recommend that you don’t try passing through walls like a ghost or jumping out of windows, etc.

Why?

Because these activities use mental energy and take the focus from simply going from one station to the next. You need that so you can quickly decode the imagery you’ve created and placed at the station.

Can you proceed to memorize using a network of Memory Palaces without following each of these? Of course … but you risk spending mental energy on remembering where to go next. And this prevents you from focusing on what comes next during recall practice.

Very Private Matters That Only You Can Tackle

Again, personal experimentation is key.

Dealing with distances is an interesting issue, but it is again solved by personal experimentation.

I use the campus of one of the universities I studied at extensively, but always focusing on individual college or administrative buildings. There were also not any unusual distances between the buildings.

But if I were to face long distance issues, I would consider creating multiple journeys and labeling each accordingly.

In sum, it sounds like your apartment might not make an ideal Memory Palace.

But don’t throw it away! You can save it for when you are at a more advanced level and start working with virtual Memory Palace elements. These would include bookcases and the like.

How To Play Memory Like Music In Your Mind

As for flying/floating, I came up with the term “Magnetic” because as things work for me, I am simply drawn from station to station. Almost as if a Magnet had pulled me there.

You might like to fly or float, but this is something you will learn from practice and experimentation.

I realize that I “pass the buck” onto practice and experimentation a lot, but there’s a reason for that. It’s because learning the Magnetic Memory Method is essentially like learning music. There are many elements that come together in order for a musician to produce sound based on reading marks on a page.

The Magnetic Memory Method is those marks on the page and you are the musician.

Sure, there are a few shortcuts here and there, but if you want to experience the music (i.e. the boost in fluency made possible by memorizing vocabulary en masse) then you’ve essentially got to know

1) How to read the music and

2) How to perform it on your instrument (which in this case is your mind).

But There’s A Paradox!

A lot of people say “but my mind is different!”

To a certain extent that is true. But how music is written and how it is performed relies on the same eyes, ears, fingers that most of us have to work with. And the principles of music are more or less universal.

Yet each person who picks up an instrument has the amazing ability to play it in a way that is unique from every other musician. I don’t know if Heavy Metal is your thing, but there is no one else on earth who can write and play riffs like David Mustaine from Megadeth.

You can actually use musical terminology to describe his note preferences and some of the flavors and tones he uses. But at the end of the day, only he can do it. This is true of all musicians, whether they are great musicians or not.

And this is true of all language speakers.

Whether it’s our mother tongue or a second language, we learn it and then use it through a vast network of personal mental associations. These are our entirely our own and yet are still based on universal principles.

And That’s A Wonderful Thing!

Why? Because you have all the “Rock Star” substance you need to excel. You’ve just got to take this piece of music I’ve given you, fill in the words you want to memorize and then start to perform.

The last thing I would suggest to you (for now) is that you start visiting new places and take care to pay attention to their layout. If you haven’t got enough places in your past, the good news is that the future is a big place. There is no end to the new locations you can collect for:

a) General enjoyment in life and

b) Memory Palace development

Carry a notebook with you, make a list of new places you’ve been and take a few seconds to draw a layout or take some photos if that helps.

Trust me, you won’t regret it.

It’s True: Size Does Not Matter

On the matter of size, I was in Leipzig the other day, but it really doesn’t matter that the hotel room was small. I still made a mental image of it because there are all kinds of occasions where even just a tiny space can quickly provide ten stations for memorizing something.

There is no building too large or small for Memory Palace construction and use.

I hope these thoughts help you move forward! Let me know if I’ve missed anything or if you have any further questions and I hope to be in touch again soon.

Further Resources

How to Renovate A Memory Palace

How To Memorize Key Spanish Phrases In Seconds

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

Note: Read this guest post from Josh Aharonoff all the way through for a FREE Spanish lesson with a personal trainer that will help you apply the memory technique you’re about to learn. 

You’re standing in the Kitchen with the refrigerator door open. You know you’re not hungry, but for some reason you’re staring inside. You think to yourself, “What was the reason again I’m here?”

But nothing comes. You’re mind is blank. You can’t remember why you went into the kitchen at. “Curse this short term memory of mine!” you say. “If only I had a better memory…”

Do You Make This Epic Mistake About Your Memory?

Many people give up on trying to learn a foreign language because they have this notion that they don’t have the memory for all of the vocabulary words involved. We’re here to dispel that myth.

Many believe a strong memory is something you are either born with, or are lacking and are doomed for all of eternity. People watch the World Memory Championships and think “Man … I could never be like that”. The truth is, improving your memory is a coachable skill that like any coachable skill, can be improved upon by proper training. We’re not talking about training through rote memory, which is simply the process of memorizing through repetition. We’re talking about the use of Mnemonics.

How To Understand Understand Why You Remember And Why You Forget

Before we explain what Mnemonics are, let’s try and understand why we remember certain things, and forget others. The mind takes in information through any of our five senses during the day. It has the chance to accept or reject thousands of stimuli at any given point. Right now, while you are sitting and reading this article, pay attention to all of the external stimuli to which your mind can pay attention.

Where are you? What are you staring at? How do you feel? Are your shoes too tight? Do you smell anything? Are your taste buds still active from the last meal you had?

In order retain that which is important, the mind needs to filter out that which is not. This brings us back to our earlier question: Why do we pay attention to some items while discarding others? The answer lies in the significance that we place on the external stimuli.

The Blazingly Obvious Truth About Organizing Information In Your Mind

What did the 13th person you saw today look like? Can’t remember? What if you saw a clown walk by you today holding 6 puppies while crossing the street. Would you remember that? I bet you’d remember that not only today, but for many years to come. The reason for that is because it was a unique experience in which you attached significance to.

Training your mind to remember anything at any given time is a simple task once you are prepared to attached significance to the item you are trying to remember.

Here’s a quick question. What is easier to navigate? A large filing cabinet with forty index cards containing one word on each of them, randomly dispersed in the cabinet; or a small filing cabinet with 1,000 index cards containing one word on each of them, each set up alphabetically? The key to training your mind to memorize any content is to attach significance to each item and organize the information in your brain effectively. While there are many ways to train your mind to do so, we are going to focus on association.

Big yellow balloon. What are the first thoughts that come to your head? Birthday party? Children? Celebration? The mind is constantly associating new information with information we are already familiar with. The key to organizing information in your brain effectively is to use association to link items together.

Rubber band, keychain, eraser, river, drum, jelly, magic wand, mud, dart, ice cube.

How To Take Charge Of Information Using Linking And Stories

How can we apply what we just learned to remember the items listed above?

Let’s start with associating and linking the first two items to each other. Now, we could just imagine a rubber band on a keychain, but remember, in order to remember something we need to make it unique. Add some significance to it. A rubber band on a keychain is too ordinary for us to find any uniqueness  and attach significance to it. What if we imagine shooting a rubber band and it landing in someone’s pocket, attaching to their keychain. That would be a unique event that you would probably remember, would you not?

Now what if we took that keychain, and imagined getting rid of it entirely by erasing it with an eraser? and what if the friction from rubbing the eraser was so strong that your hand caught fire, and you had to put it out in a river? But while you were in the river, someone threw you what was supposed to be a lifeboat but was instead a drum? So you took some jelly, but rather than sliding the drum off of you with it( that would be too plain), you broke off a piece of the drum and made a drum and jelly sandwich? But while you did, you got some jelly stuck in your teeth and had to use a magic wand to pick the jelly out. Now, instead of picking the jelly out, you just turned it from jelly to mud. So you asked a friend to throw a dart at the speck of mud in between your teeth. When your friend threw the dart, he hit a bullseye right on your teeth, and out popped an ice cube.

See if you could recall the story, starting from the rubber band.

Alert, Alert: How To Take Charge Of Unruly Vocabulary

Now, what if the word is difficult to picture in your mind, like the word “magnificent?” What if we broke down the word magnificent to words that sounded similar, like “magnify” and “cent?” Now when we hear the word magnificent we could think of a cent under a magnifying glass, maybe catching fire from the sun.

The same holds true for words in another language!

Let’s now try memorizing 5 key phases in Spanish:

In order to remember buenos dias, we can imagine booing Carmen Diaz after she walks out of her house with a poor nose job, and says good morning. To remember mucho gusto, we can imagine meeting a goose and smooching it’s toe as a nice gesture. To remember cómo estás, we can imagine combing a stack of pennies (or anything for that matter), and responding that we have been very busy combing when someone asks us “How are you?”. To remember me llamo, we can imagine telling someone our name, and then holding a yam in your hand and introducing it as well. Finally, to remember muy bien, gracias, we can imagine a cow saying Moo as you try to stop it from bending over, and the look of grace in it’s eyes as you save him.

These don’t have to be the examples you use to remember things – the important thing is that you attach significance to these words with your own kookie imagination to help you remember them 1-2-3.

Get Rid Of Language Learning Forgetfulness Once And For All!

Let’s do a recap of what we learned.

In order to remember something, the mind needs to attach a sense of significance to it. A good way of attaching significance is if something is unique. Once we attach significance to an item that is unique, we need to organize and store it effectively in our mind. A good way to organize data is through association.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, it is time to put theory to practice. Think you’re ready for some more Spanish words? Let’s meet over video chat on SpanishVirtually.com for a free Spanish lesson to get you up to speed in no time!

Author: Josh Aharonoff – Director of Sales and Marketing, Spanish Virtually

Further Resources

How to Memorize 50 Spanish Provinces On Your First Go

Memory Improvement Tips For The Manic Depressive University Student

Subscribe to the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast on iTunes or Stitcher.

There’s no secrets and certainly no shame about it. People get depressed.

Ain’t nothing new.

Before depression, was melancholy.

Some called it “deprimare” (Latin).

Some called it “melas” (Greek).

Manic comes from the “manikós” and “manía” (Greek) and means inclined to madness.

Latin later turned the word into “mania.”

The names may change, but the states remain the same.

Mania and depression are the sorts of thing that can happen to anyone, at any time, for any reason … or for no reason at all.

I hope these states never happen to you, dear Memorizers. But if they do, I highly recommend that you supplement your medical treatment with mnemonics.

I’m not a doctor (at least not the medical kind), so I’m not qualified to offer medical advice.

I can only tell you that when the black bile of melancholia hit me during my graduate studies, it hit hard, it hit bad and it did its best to sink my Magnetic ship into the rough seas of depression.

Anyhow, the inspiration for today’s episode and sharing these memory improvement tips for students suffering from Manic Depression comes from a listener of the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast. He wrote:

Thanks for sharing your story.  I also have bipolar.  It’s a tough thing to deal with and I appreciate your willingness to share your story.  I have always wanted a doctorate degree. But for reasons you are well acquainted with, it has been a massive struggle.  Another one of my life goals is to learn Russian and be fluent.  I feel skeptical that the methods outlined here can help someone like me to accomplish these goals, but I’m willing to take a deep breath, and give it 100%.  Honestly, what’s the worst that can happen? It either works or it doesn’t, right?  I’m going to try hard to make this work, and I will be in touch to let you know how I’ve progressed, but for now I wanted to just thank you for bringing the possibility to me, and for sharing your struggle with bipolar.

In today’s episode of the podcast, I address this letter in detail, giving you the reasons why you should feel the mania and depression and do it anyway. There is nothing that you cannot achieve just because you have this emotional dis-ease.

Concentration Zen For Students With Brains Bipolar Medication Has Turned To Mush

I’ve talked several times before about my personal history with concentration issues, so you’re not alone. I was thrown into a severe depression as a grad student and that’s one of the things that led me to memorization techniques. And of course, no sooner than I emerged from the depression, I found myself riding back up to the sky. And it’s hard to focus when you’ve got the wind blowing hard in your face as you blast towards the moon.

But even with memory techniques to guide me during these torrential states, they didn’t completely eliminate the concentration issues. One practice that I found helpful (though not always) was to read out loud. Narrating books can put strain on the voice and requires a lot of water, but it also helps generate focus during especially difficult passages.

When narration wasn’t possible, I found audiobooks whenever I possibly could. This is usually easy for novels, but not so easy for dry theoretical texts – hence reading out loud.

But the point is not to “read” the audiobooks while walking around or cooking bacon. For the purposes of serious study, you want to have the actual text in front of you and read along with. That’s why I always listened and read at the same time. And If I had to, I recited the book myself and then listened to my own narration while following along with the book in hand.

How Memory Techniques Saved The Lovely Voice You Hear Today On The MMM Podcast

Next, I studied memorization techniques (you knew that was coming). These are great because they sharpen the mind and improve concentration. I think it’s because practicing with Memory Palaces and related techniques sends more oxygen to the brain. It also helps improve recall (of course) because it’s a simple matter to store key points in a carefully prepared and predetermined Memory Palace.

Along with memorization techniques, meditation is incredibly helpful. Nothing fancy. Just sitting, breathing, watching your thoughts. 3-5 minutes is good, 10 minutes is very good and 15 minutes is exceptional (that’s a loose quote from a meditation training I heard once upon a time). Three 15 minute sessions a day works gangbusters for me.

Then there’s the matter of diet and exercise. Sorry to spread the bad news, but eating processed foods and anything wrapped in plastic or bolted into a can is probably not going to help concentration. I’m not a doctor (well, I am, but not the medical kind) so I can’t give any dietary advice. But you know the drill. Eat well and keep fit.

While You “Treat” Manic Depression With Memory Palaces … Look At What Else They Can Do …

And then read these …

Further Resources

Memorizing Vocabulary Fights Depression

Robin Williams And The Most Unusable Memory Palace In The World

Dr. Jim Samuels on using mnemonics to relieve stress

Coping with Chemo Brain Using Memory Palaces

Before I go, don’t think that you have to have a mental illness to benefit from these memory tips. They’re good for anyone and everyone. [image error]