Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life

by Jim Kwik

were not taught how.

In the same way, if as adults we believe that we don’t have the capacity to learn, what do we do instead of taking the responsibility to teach ourselves what we want or need to know? We tell ourselves it isn’t necessary, we make excuses, we blame other people or circumstances, and then we distract ourselves with things that make us feel good.

There is no such thing as failure. Only failure to learn.

Motivation = Purpose × Energy × S3

SMART goals.

People who know their purpose in life know who they are, what they are, and why they are. And when you know yourself, it becomes easier to live a life that’s true to your core values.

Finding your passion is not about choosing the right path or finding the perfect professional destiny. It’s about experimenting to see what ignites your joy. Passion comes when we rediscover our authentic, alive self, the one who has been muted and buried beneath a pile of other people’s expectations.

The highest drive we have is to act consistently with how we perceive ourselves—it is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.

For example, someone who wants to remember people’s names should value relationships and their connection to other people.

If I asked you what’s most important to you in life, you might tell me family is one of your core values. I would then ask what family does for you. For me, it provides love. For you, it might provide belonging. The important distinction here is that family is a means value—a means to an end. The end value is actually love or belonging. When we look at our values, we can determine whether the value we’ve stated is an end or whether it evokes something else.

You’re uncomfortable giving speeches, but you know that your team is relying on you to rally the whole organization behind your project at the conference. You

If you’re struggling to find motivation to learn, or to accomplish anything else in your life, there is a good chance you haven’t uncovered the why of the task.

Conversely, if you don’t find any motivation in knowing someone’s name, you’re going to forget it as soon as you move on to your next conversation.

“I want to learn Spanish so that I can finally speak to my father-in-law,” or “I want to learn American history so I can help my kid learn better in school,” or “I want to learn how to research better so I can finish my business plan and find an investor for my company.” Write them down.

When I make decisions, everything is either a heaven yes or heaven no

Most of us feel tired and fatigued these days. I believe that’s because we feel like we need to say “yes” to every opportunity, invite, or request that comes our way.

While it’s great to be open-minded and consider options, when you say yes to something, you need to be careful that you’re not inadvertently saying no to yourself and your own needs.

Really feel the pain that you will have if you don’t do something about it. This is the only way for you to make a change last and to get you to follow through.

Write down a list of your most common “I am” statements. How do you feel about the ways in which these statements define you? Create a list of the things you value the most. Now prioritize that list and think about how this aligns with your definition of yourself. Get into the habit of asking the question “why” before you do anything.