Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More and be More Productive (Mental Mastery, #1)

by Kevin Horsley

We always defend what we believe. If you believe you have a bad memory, you will always act and think in accordance with that belief. Where your attention goes, your energy flows.

First, remember that 80 percent of changing anything is about why you want to change and only 20 percent is about how you do it. It is as simple as having a reason and deciding that you want to change your beliefs.

“If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree.”

“Learn to be silent. Let your quiet mind listen and absorb,” said Pythagoras.

Purpose: A clear purpose is important because clarity dissolves resistance. Always remember why you are reading or learning the information. Keep your purpose at the forefront of your mind. If you don’t know what you want, how are you going to know when you get it? Learning with a purpose increases your attention, comprehension, and retention; it also helps organize your thoughts.

I should consider this durng studies.

Think about it: What happens when you read a novel or a story? You make a kind of movie in your mind, don’t you? You can remember all the names of the characters, places, and events because you can see them—you create pictures while reading, using your imagination and natural creative ability.

The SEE Principle S—Senses: There are only five ways to get anything into your brain, and those are through your senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. Your senses help you mentally recreate your world. If you learn to engage your senses, you will use more of your brain and improve your memory. Think of a horse. See it in your mind. Touch it, smell it, and hear it. You didn’t see the letters H-O-R-S-E in your mind; you saw a multisensory picture of what the word represents. Your senses make mind movies real and memorable. Use them! E—Exaggeration: Throughout this book, we will use images to represent concepts that we’d like to remember. But not just any images—exaggerated, sometimes silly, and sometimes nonsensical mind pictures. Which is easier to remember: a strawberry that is normal size, or one the size of a house? An elephant, or an elephant wearing a pink bikini? Make your mental images larger or smaller than life. The more you exaggerate the image you’re using to help you remember a concept, the easier it will be to recall later on. Exaggerate with humor; tickle your mind. There is no scientific evidence that learning must be serious. Make your images illogical. Have fun; create some exaggerated images to improve your memory. E—Energize: Give your mental pictures action. Would you rather watch a movie of your holiday or a slide show? What creates more feeling in your imagination: a horse standing still or a horse that is running and moving? Make your mental ...

SEE principles

Imagine you had to remember the name Washington. You could turn that word into a picture of someone washing a tin can. If you had to remember the word hydrogen, you could see a picture of a fire hydrant drinking gin.

Some people say, “But now I have to remember the car, too; you are giving me more to remember.” Not true. With each memory system, you will use something that is already in your memory. In fact, you are simply using all of the otherwise unused space in your long-term memory. You remembered the entire list with ease. Why does this system work so well? If you throw water into a sieve it goes in and straight through. If you line the sieve with a plastic bag, the water gets trapped.

Very true. You are not remembering more by using an analogy as all memories are formulated from pre existing memories, and the synaptic density of neurons means all memories are associative. Very astute observation I think.

The secret to accelerated learning is superior organization.

The body method was originally invented by the ancient Greeks. You can use it to remember information for exams, work, shopping, or any list of items. You can even use it to remember things when you don’t have a pen at hand, like when you are in the shower. I just used 10 body parts as an example, but you can use your back, ears, eyes, nose … you can use it all. Just make sure you connect the body part and the information in a humorous way (remember the SEE principles), and that you remember the order. I have been able to use this method to remember 50 bits of information. I like to use this system so that I can consistently have the information at my fingertips—literally!

Using the power of our associative mind, we will learn two “peg” methods of memory. The “shape peg” method was developed in 1651 by Henry Herdson, who linked numbers to objects shaped like the digits. The “rhyming peg” method was introduced two centuries later by John Sambrook in 1879.

Pegging memory (Compound induced) techniques

Rhyming Pegs

Remember: You always need your long-term memory to assist your short-term memory. With this method, you associate new information to long-term “memory pegs” in your mind.

Shape Pegs

Preferred Peg method

Prepare in your mind an organized location, such as a house layout, a shopping mall, or the route you take from your house to the mall. 2)Create markers or places in this location or along the route, as we did with the body and car lists. Use an easy-to-follow order. 3)Using the SEE principles, make a clear image of the information that you want to remember. 4)Place each item you are trying to remember on one of the marked locations.

Method of Loci, I should use this more often as it's previously worked for me

Attitude

Me being sulky

Priorities

Fridge sticky notes

H...

Salad on kitchen counter

F...

Family picture

Thi...

Speech bubble linked with attitude

Commi...

Working at computer desk

Fin...

Currency symbol

F...

Stone tablet of values

Relatio...

Bed partner

Gener...

Birthday money

V...

Principles on stone tablet

G...

Hominid evolution diagram

No memory is ever alone; it’s at the end of a trail of memories, a dozen trails that each have their own associations.

I often hear people say, “Oh, do you learn by association?” We learn only by association. Learning connects new information to old information; it doesn’t happen any other way. It creates a relationship between the known and the unknown. The more you know, the easier it is to connect more information, and to know even more.

When you are first introduced to someone, they often say their name so quickly you can’t catch it. So the first thing you have to do is take control of the introduction so you can slow it down. Next, pay attention and really listen to the name, because if you don’t hear it you will not remember it. As Oliver Wendel Holmes said, “A person must get a thing before they can forget it.” If you hear the name, repeat it back to the person; this will improve your recall. If you don’t hear the name, ask the person to say it again. If it is a difficult name, ask them to spell it, too. Listen and be genuinely interested in the other person’s name. We are normally so worried about being interesting that we forget to be interested. Learn to listen to people from their perspective and not your own. This will not only improve your name memory, but your social intelligence, too.

Remembering names

Let me give you two examples using the pictures on the next page, which have been placed together to make a linked picture. Each picture represents one of the 12 cranial nerves, which emerge directly from the brain. Look at the pictures and see how much registers in your mind. Link the pictures in a story and it will create an even stronger connection. The more deeply you think about any information, the more you will remember it.

Do this for the anatomy of the brain

Tony calls Mind Mapping a “Swiss Army Knife for the brain.” It is not only a method for expanding your memory, but a way to improve your thinking skills. Mind Mapping can be used for memorizing, learning, presenting, communicating, organizing, planning, negotiating, and all types of thinking.

I created this Mind Map with iMindMap software. There are many Mind Mapping computer programs out there, but nothing I’ve seen comes close to the flexibility and usability of iMindMap.

Try to find the map software you used for media in tech

Do you enjoy watching a presentation where the presenter hides behind a piece of paper or a screen and reads information to you? No, you want to see a human being who makes eye contact and communicates freely. The purpose of any presentation is to get an audience to understand, believe, and act on what you say. If you as a presenter can’t remember your content, how is your audience supposed to? If they can’t remember it, they won’t believe or act on it. Many people are afraid of public speaking. I believe that has a lot to do with the fear of forgetting information. Many people say, “I might hit a blank.” If you work with the methods in this book you will never “blank out” again.

When you really remember the information, it builds confidence, and you will look like you know what you are talking about. Memory power is presentation power.

Great presenters know that audiences tend to remember: F—First things L—Last things O—Outstanding information O—Own links R—Repeated information Therefore, they make their introductions and conclusions powerful and outstanding. They open with memorable demonstrations, questions, facts, quotations, or meaningful stories. They also continually link information to the audience, make it more outstanding, and repeat the main points. If you design your presentation with the FLOOR principle in mind, your audience will remember more—and your presentation will be more enjoyable.

Tips for presenting information

Learning new information isn’t helpful unless it can be recalled later. Anything that increases one’s memory power increases access to everything learned. —Richard Restak, MD

All the “A” students that I have ever interviewed prepare and plan their learning. They do little bits over time. They don’t stress before an exam, because the hard work is already done. All the “F” students overdose on energy drinks the night before and stress their way through the information hoping it will stick for the exam. So break your learning down and master the material over time.

Before you study anything, make sure you have a strong PIC (purpose, interest, and curiosity) in mind. Review Chapter 3 to get more details on the PIC principle.

Use the PIC principle to assess whether i should read content.

If you choose to believe that you can’t grow beyond your current limits you will live a limited life.

Habits begin as offhanded remarks, ideas, and images. And then, layer upon layer, through practice, they grow from cobwebs into cables that shackle or strengthen our lives.

We all love to win but how many people love to train? —Mark Spitz

If you want to master the skills that you have learned in this book, or if you want to master anything, you need self-discipline. Self-discipline is not self-deprivation. It is about raising your standards, going for and being more.

What do you want? What are you doing daily to get what you want? If your daily actions are not moving you in the direction of what you want, then you will never get what you want. Common sense, isn’t it?

William James said, “The more we struggle and debate, the more we reconsider and delay, the less likely we are to act.”

Review to Renew You know as well as I do that it is entirely wrong to assume that any subject matter which we once learned and mastered will remain our mental property forever. —Bruno Furst

People who use the memory methods and systems often feel that they could never forget the information they learned using them. But while the methods help to store memories quickly for a medium term, to make sure that the information remains in your mind, you need to review and recite it.

During the first 72-hour period, the knowledge transforms into a deeper, stronger memory. If you are using a route or journey system, after the first 72 hours you will be able to reuse the journey for new information. But if you have information that you want to keep forever, give it a specific route or system that’s not used for anything else, and review it often.

You are the source of all your memories and remembering is a choice! There is no magic when it comes to memory improvement; there is only management.