The Victorious Mind Quotes

“The rules will set you free”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“What exactly is concentration, then? The simple answer: concentration is the ability to pay attention to just one thing or set of related things at a time.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“Although I did not call my home office the “Virtuous Scheme Laboratory” back then, I’ve used the term often over the years after hearing a guy I sometimes think of as the “Buddha of Business” named Dean Jackson use a similar phrase. Certainly, what I was doing in that office was “scheming” with the stubborn tenacity of Wile E. Coyote to find a way out of hell without sacrificing my intelligence or believing in some vapid god that couldn’t possibly exist.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“During my PhD, I had also learned hypnotherapy and so-called neuro-linguistic programming (NLP). These are other realms where you learn how far and low some people will go to make a buck (although you can find a few virtuous cats at play in these fields if you search long enough). You also learn how susceptible you’ll always be to language patterns that can create states of trance. These patterns can be personally useful when you know how to induce them in the “Virtuous Scheme Laboratory” of your own mind.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“Become the Storm,” refers to Sam Harris’s point that you are not influenced by the storms of external circumstances so much as “you are the storm.” I take this further by arguing that you need to do more than recognize the wisdom of Harris’ insight—you need to “become the storm.” Becoming the storm and staging the dual games of memory and mindfulness practice will help you remain in a watchful state of becoming.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“I also often refer to the “Magnetic Memory Method”, which is the systematic, 21st-century approach I developed to memorizing foreign language vocabulary, dreams, names, music, poetry and much more, in ways that are easy, elegant, effective and fun.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“But stories have power—including the power to heal. As Brené Brown points out, “When we deny our stories, they define us. When we own our stories, we get to write a brave new ending.” If my stories of overcoming major limitations help you own your stories, perhaps you’ll be encouraged to take action. Perhaps you’ll rise to meet the challenges of these techniques and, thus, experience the rich rewards they offer. The uncomfortable parts of life have taught me the most. I’m not going to leave anything out retelling them here.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“This book differs from other memory books because I’ve come to believe memory training and meditation go hand in hand. By taking up a memory training practice, you may well receive many of the same benefits meditation can bring. My discussion differs from many meditation books, as well, because it offers instruction and personal stories that contextualize the techniques.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“Most of us, however, need space and context—and often stories—to percolate abstract ideas and isolated instructions.

Some learners need to know about techniques in great detail. This need will be served.

Others gain understanding through narrative and context. For these readers, I share my story.

Some need to know the reasons why and how certain techniques work. While it is not always clear, whenever possible, I share the brain science I’m aware of and a wide variety of sources they can follow up.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“The techniques that help us accurately lock down useful types of information can override the stories we tell about ourselves, leading to incorruptible recall of simple things that set you free—on demand. Some of the best is both ancient and new every time you use it, but always the same.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“As you’ll also find throughout the book, I am a proponent of using a variety of tools and techniques to enhance well-being. Why use only an Allen wrench when you have a whole toolbox at your disposal? The benefits compound when you use a range of the fantastic mental gizmos you’ll discover in this book, to work on one project—yourself—from different angles, including the mental, physical, and even spiritual (though you’ll find no religion in my kit even if I espouse the memorization of scripture from a variety of traditions).”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How to Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“But this book you’re reading now has a dual purpose: to share both my journey through the storm and the techniques that enabled me to sail to calm waters. By telling the story and detailing the techniques that enabled me to thrive, I hope to help others learn to find peace and even victory in life, every day.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being

“Good medicine, bad medicine. Every pill has its place in the story of how this “self” assembles with people around the world to joyously teach, mostly for free, the memory techniques that saved my life and keep saving it. And none of it would have happened if a stranger hadn’t tackled a confused mental patient who was about to “commit suicide.”
― Anthony Metivier, The Victorious Mind: How To Master Memory, Meditation and Mental Well-Being