Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life by Jim Kwik
Jim indicts the four growing villains that are challenging our capacity to think, focus, learn, grow, and be fully human.
The first is digital deluge—the unending flood of information in a world of finite time and unfair expectations that leads to overwhelm, anxiety, and sleeplessness.
The second villain is digital distraction. The fleeting ping of digital dopamine pleasure replaces our ability to sustain the attention necessary for deep relationships, deep learning, or deep work.
The next villain is digital dementia. Memory is a muscle that we have allowed to atrophy. Research on dementia proves that the greater our capacity to learn—the more mental brainercise we perform—the lower our risk of dementia. In many cases, we have outsourced our memory to our detriment.
The last brain-damaging villain is digital deduction. In a world where information is abundantly accessible, we’ve perhaps gone too far in how we use that information, even getting to the point where we are letting technology do much of our critical thinking and reasoning for us.
The cumulative effects of these four digital villains robs us of our focus, attention, learning, and, most importantly, our ability to truly think. It robs us of our mental clarity and results in brain fatigue, distraction, inability to easily learn, and unhappiness.
The key to living an exceptional life, as Jim states, is a process of unlimiting ourselves. And he has cracked the code for personal transformation with his Limitless Model. If our mindset is not aligned with our desires or goals, we will never achieve them. It’s critical to identify your limiting beliefs, stories, and deeply held beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions about yourself and what’s possible. Examining, excavating, and expunging those beliefs is the first step to having a limitless mindset.
The second secret to a limitless life is your motivation. Jim outlines three key elements to motivation.
First, your purpose. The reason why matters.
The second key is the ability to do what you want. This requires energy, and energy requires something called energy management.The science of human performance is critical to achieving your purpose—eating whole unprocessed food, exercise, stress management, quality sleep, and skills at communication and building healthy relationships (and eliminating toxic ones).
Limitless teaches us the five key methods to achieve whatever we want: Focus, Study, Memory Enhancement, Speed Reading, and Critical Thinking.
If an egg is broken by an outside force, the life ends. If broken by an inside force, life begins. Great things always begin from the inside - Jim Kwik.
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THE LIMITLESS MODEL
A limit in your Mindset—you entertain a low belief in yourself, your capabilities, what you deserve, or what is possible.
A limit in your Motivation—you lack the drive, purpose, or energy to take action.
A limit in your Methods—you were taught and are acting on a process that is not effective to create the results you desire.
Mindset (the WHAT): deeply held beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions we create about who we are, how the world works, what we are capable of and deserve, and what is possible.
Motivation (the WHY): the purpose one has for taking action. The energy required for someone to behave in a particular way.
Method (the HOW): a specific process for accomplishing something, especially an orderly, logical, or systematic way of instruction.
Psychologist Jim Taylor defines thinking as, The capacity to reflect, reason, and draw conclusions based on our experiences, knowledge, and insights. It’s what makes us human and has enabled us to communicate, create, build, advance, and become civilized.
Give a person an idea, and you enrich their day. Teach a person how to learn, and they can enrich their entire life. As per Sir Ken Robinson, only very schools anywhere in the world have incorporated learning how to learn into their curriculum. Most schools won't get underneath all of this to teach us how to teach ourselves, to make enriching our minds, discovering new concepts, and truly absorbing what we learn fundamental to our everyday lives.
The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else - Eric Ries.
Pomodoro technique, a productivity method developed by Francesco Cirillo based on the idea that the optimal time for a task is 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute break
There are three things you want to forget (at least temporarily).
The first is what you already know. One of the reasons children learn rapidly is because they are empty vessels. what Zen philosophy calls a beginner’s mind.
The second thing is to forget what’s not urgent or important.
And finally, forget about your limitations.
https://jimkwik.com/kwik-brain-153-3-kwik-tips-for-brain-exercise/
https://www.limitlessbook.com/resources
The French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre noted that, Life is C(choice) between B(birth) and D(death)
The one real object of education is to leave a person in the condition of continually asking questions - Bishop Mandell Creighton.
He who asks questions cannot avoid the answers - Cameroon proverb
In their book Mequilibrium, authors Jan Bruce, Dr. Andrew Shatté, and Dr. Adam Perlman call iceberg beliefs because of how many of them lie beneath the surface of our subconscious. Iceberg beliefs are deeply rooted and powerful, and they fuel our emotions, they say in the book. The more entrenched an iceberg is, the more havoc it wreaks on your life. . . creating your schedule chaos, getting in the way of successfully sticking to a diet, or holding you back from seizing opportunities.
Dr. Jennice Vilhauer, director of Emory University’s Adult Outpatient Psychotherapy Program, says:
the voice in your head that judges you, doubts you, belittles you, and constantly tells you that you are not good enough. It says negative hurtful things to you—things that you would never even dream of saying to anyone else. I am such an idiot; I am a phony; I never do anything right; I will never succeed.
the voice in your head that judges you, doubts you, belittles you, and constantly tells you that you are not good enough. It says negative hurtful things to you—things that you would never even dream of saying to anyone else. I am such an idiot; I am a phony; I never do anything right; I will never succeed.
the voice in your head that judges you, doubts you, belittles you, and constantly tells you that you are not good enough. It says negative hurtful things to you—things that you would never even dream of saying to anyone else. I am such an idiot; I am a phony; I never do anything right; I will never succeed.
There are multiple forms of genius
Dynamo genius: Those who express their genius through creativity and ideas. Shakespeare was a dynamo genius
Blaze genius: Those whose genius becomes clear through their interaction with others. Oprah Winfrey is a blaze genius
Tempo genius: Those whose genius expresses itself through their ability to see the big picture and stay the course. Nelson Mandela was a tempo genius
Steel genius: Those who are brilliant at sweating the small stuff and doing something with the details that others missed or couldn’t envision. (Sergey Brin, Billy Beane are such geniuses)
REFRAMING LIMITING BELIEFS
Key 1: Name Your Limiting Beliefs
Key 2: Get to the Facts
Key 3: Create a New Belief
THE POSSIBILITIES BECOME LIMITLESS
Dr. Barbara Fredrickson's, a positive psychology researcher at the University of North Carolina, broaden and build theory because positive emotions broaden your sense of possibilities and open your mind, which in turn allows you to build new skills and resources that can provide value in other areas of your life.
The theory, together with the research reviewed here, suggests that positive emotions: (i) broaden people’s attention and thinking; (ii) undo lingering negative emotional arousal; (iii) fuel psychological resilience; (iv) build consequential personal resources; (v) trigger upward spirals towards greater well-being in the future; and (vi) seed human flourishing. The theory also carries an important prescriptive message. People should cultivate positive emotions in their own lives and in the lives of those around them, not just because doing so makes them feel good in the moment, but also because doing so transforms people for the better and sets them on paths toward flourishing and healthy longevity.
THE 7 LIES OF LEARNING
LIE NO. 1: INTELLIGENCE IS FIXED
Here’s the truth: It’s not how smart you are; it’s how you are smart. There are multiple types of intelligence (more on this later). Like so many things, intelligence is a combination of attitudes and actions, and is dependent on context.
New belief: Intelligence is fluid.
LIE NO. 2: WE ONLY USE 10 PERCENT OF OUR BRAINS
LIE NO. 3: MISTAKES ARE FAILURES
LIE NO. 4: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Here’s the truth: Knowledge is not power. It only has the potential to be power. You can read this book and learn everything in it, but if you don’t take it and apply the knowledge, it will be useless.
LIE NO. 5: LEARNING NEW THINGS IS VERY DIFFICULT
LIE NO. 6: THE CRITICISM OF OTHER PEOPLE MATTERS
Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from. People will doubt you and criticize you no matter what you do. You will never know your true potential until you break the unfair judgements
LIE NO. 7: GENIUS IS BORN
New belief: Genius is not born; it’s made through deep practice.
Energy
Here are my 10 recommendations for generating limitless brain energy.
1. A GOOD BRAIN DIET
THE TOP 10 BRAIN FOODS
Avocados
Blueberries
Broccoli
Dark Chocolate
Eggs
Green leafy vegetables
Salmon, Sardines, Caviar
Turmeric
Walnuts
Water
2. BRAIN NUTRIENTS
Max Lugavere, author of Genius Foods, we discussed the benefits of supplementing with phospholipid DHA—your brain uses this to create healthy cell membranes
3. EXERCISE
4. KILLING ANTS (automatic negative thoughts)
5. A CLEAN ENVIRONMENT
6. A POSITIVE PEER GROUP
7. BRAIN PROTECTION
8. NEW LEARNING
9. STRESS MANAGEMENT
10. SLEEP
Motivation
Dr. B. J. Fogg created the Fogg Behavior Model to identify the circumstances that need to be present for behavior change to occur. For a target behavior to happen, he notes, a person must have sufficient motivation, sufficient ability, and an effective prompt. All three factors must be present at the same instant for the behavior to occur.
Fogg identifies three key motivators:
1. Pleasure/pain
2. Hope/fear
3. Social acceptance/rejection
Fogg notes. For example, in some situations, people will accept pain (a flu shot) in order to overcome fear (anticipation of getting the flu).
Fogg equates ability with simplicity, noting that when something is simple for us, we are considerably more likely to do it. He defines six categories of simplicity:
Time: We only perceive something to be simple if we have the time available to perform the function.
Money: Similarly, if something stretches our financial resources, we do not consider it simple.
Physical effort: We consider things that are physically easy for us to be simple.
Brain cycles: Simple things don’t tax our thinking, and we shy away from things that require us to think too hard.
Social deviance: This goes back to the acceptance motivation. A simple act fits into societal norms.
Nonroutine: How far something is out of one’s normal routine will define its level of simplicity.
Prompts
Finally, Fogg notes three types of prompts:
Spark - A spark is a type of prompt that immediately leads to a form of motivation.
Facilitator: This type of prompt works when motivation is high, but ability is low. For example, if you want to use a certain kind of software on your computer but are tech-averse, a tool that makes that software easier for you to use is likely to cause you to adopt this behavior.
Signal: In some cases, you’ll have both high motivation and high ability.
CREATING A NEW HABIT
W is for want
I is for innate
N is for now.
Flow
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it. To Csikszentmihalyi, flow is an expression of optimal experience.
Dr. Csikszentmihalyi describes flow as having eight characteristics:
Absolute concentration
Total focus on goals
The sense that time is either speeding up or slowing down
A feeling of reward from the experience
A sense of effortlessness
The experience is challenging, but not overly so
Your actions almost seem to be happening on their own
You feel comfort with what you are doing
THE FOUR STAGES OF FLOW
Stage 1: Struggle
Stage 2: Relaxation'
Stage 3: Flow
Stage 4: Consolidation
Finding flow
Eliminate distractions
Give yourself enough time
Do something you love
Have clear goals
Challenge yourself .. Little
Enemies of flow:
Multitasking
Stress
Fear of failure
Lack of conviction
Calming your busty mind:
Breath
Do something that has been causing you stress
Schedule time for distractions
Four levels of competence
Since the sixties, psychologists have noted that there are four levels of competence or learning.
The first, known as unconscious incompetence, is when you don’t know what you don’t know.
In the next level, known as conscious incompetence, you’re aware of what you don’t know.
The third level is conscious competence. What this means is that you’re aware of askill and have the capacity to perform that skill, but only when you actively put your mind to it. You can do it, but it takes work.
The fourth level—the one any lifelong learner is seeking—is unconscious competence. In this case, you know how to perform a skill, and it’s second nature to you.
Habit 1: Employ Active Recall
Habit 2: Employ Spaced Repetition
Habit 3: Manage the State You’re In - Your posture also controls the state of your mind. Sit as if you’re about to learn the most crucial life-changing information.
Habit 4: Use Your Sense of Smell - The scent of rosemary has been shown to improve memory. Peppermint and lemon promotes concentration.
Habit 5: Music for the Mind
Habit 6: Listen with Your Whole Brain
Habit 7: Take Note of Taking Notes
Memory improvement
Learning passively is weak; active learning is strong.
Visualization - Thinking is done through the use of pictures.
Association - In order to learn any new piece of information, it must be associated with something you already know.
Emotion
Adding emotion makes something memorable
Location - If you can associate something with a place, you’re more likely to remember it.
HOW READING MAKES YOUR BRAIN LIMITLESS
Reading kicks your brain into gear.
Reading improves your focus.
Reading improves your vocabulary
Reading improves your imagination.
Reading improves understanding.
THE THINKING HATS
Dr. Edward de Bono devised the concept of the six thinking hats as a tool for getting out of whatever rut of thinking one might be mired in
White hat: Here, your focus is on collecting details and getting all the facts you’ll need to address whatever issue you’re trying to address
Yellow hat: Here, you’re trying to identify the positives in any problem or challenge you’re facing, highlighting the value inherently in place.
Black hat: to pivot from looking at the good side of the challenge to facing its difficulties and pitfalls
Red hat: This is the point where you can let your feelings about the problem come to the surface, and maybe even express fears.
Green hat: You’ve looked at the problem analytically and you’ve looked at it emotionally. Now ask yourself, what new ideas can you bring to what you already know about the problem?
Blue hat: to be in management mode, and make sure you’ve addressed your agenda productively and gone through the process in a way that benefits from all the other hats you’ve worn.
HOW ARE YOU SMART?
Dr. Howard Gardner, professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has studied intelligence extensively and has identified eight distinct forms of intelligence
There are three learning styles: visual, auditory & kinesthetic.
MENTAL MODELS
Decision-Making: The 40/70 Rule
According to Colin Powell, anything less than 40 percent and you’re just guessing. Anything more than 70 percent and you’re stalling over making the decision.
Productivity: Create a Not-to-Do List
First, write down tasks that might be important but can’t be done because of outside circumstances.
Next, include tasks that you think need to be done but that don’t add value to your life;
Then include current and ongoing tasks that don’t benefit from additional attention.
Last, include urgent tasks that are often to-do lists given to us by other people, such as getting some background research on a project or making follow-up calls. These are tasks that might be necessary to do but perhaps don’t need to be done by you
Problem-Solving: Study Your Errors
Ask yourself why those mistakes happened
Then ask how you can best avoid the same mistakes in the future. (Some of them are in your control and some are not)
Finally, using what you’ve gleaned from this exercise, determine how you can create the best conditions to support your desired outcomes in the future.
Strategy: Second-Order Thinking
First-order thinking is easy, but it’s second-order thinking that allows us to go deeper through time and consequences. To use second-order thinking when considering future actions:
Always ask yourself, And then what?
Think in increments of time. What do the consequences look like in five days? Five months? Five years?
Draw out the possible courses of action you might take using columns to organize consequences.
Thinking exponentially
In a piece for the Harvard Business Review, Mark Bonchek, founder and chief epiphany officer of Shift Thinking, describes the linear mindset as a line appearing on a graph that rises gradually over time.
Step 1: Get to the Underlying Problem
Step 2: Posit a New Approach
Step 3: Read about It
Step 4: Extrapolate
Here is a kwik list of some of my favorite mindset, motivation, and methods books.
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Understanding Understanding by Richard Saul Wurman
The Tapping Solution for Manifesting Your Greatest Self by Nick Ortner
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Dr. Daniel Amen
The Motivation Manifesto by Brendon Burchard
Tiny Habits by Dr. BJ Fogg
Brain Food by Lisa Mosconi
Me to We by Marc Kielburger & Craig Kielburger
The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun
Miracle Mindset by JJ Virgin
The TB12 Method by Tom Brady
Super Human by Dave Asprey
The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek
The Future Is Faster Than You Think by Steven Kotler & Peter Diamandis
The Code of the Extraordinary Mind by Vishen Lakhiani
The School of Greatness by Lewis Howes
Stress Less, Accomplish More by Emily Fletcher
The Power of When by Dr. Michael Breus
Becoming Super Woman by Nicole Lapin
Chineasy Everyday by Shaolan
#AskGaryVee by Gary Vaynerchuk
Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
The Brain that Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge
Mindset by Carol Dweck
The Align Method by Aaron Alexander
Super Brain by Deepak Chopra and Rudolph Tanzi
Genius Foods by Max Lugavere
Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson
The UltraMind Solution by Dr. Mark Hyman
Spark by Dr. John Ratey
The 4-Hour Chef by Tim Ferriss
Math Doesn’t Suck by Danica Mckellar
Boundless by Ben Greenfield
Six Thinking Hats by Edward de Bono
Thrive by Arianna Huffington
The Element by Sir Ken Robinson with Lou Aronica
TED Talks by Chris Anderson
Atomic Habits by James Clear
Imagine It Forward by Beth Comstock & Tahl Raz
Belong by Radha Agrawal
Disrupt-Her by Miki Agrawal
The Ripple Effect by Dr. Greg Wells
Exponential Transformation by Salim Ismail, Francisco Palao & Michelle Lapierre
Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty
The Alter Ego Effect by Todd Herman
How to Live a Good Life by Jonathan Fields
The Mind Map Book by Barry Buzan & Tony Buzan
The Principles by Ray Dalio
Re-Create Your Life by Morty Lefkoe
Emotional First Aid by Dr. Guy Winch
A Higher Branch by Sam Makhoul
Cancer-Free with Food by Liana Werner-Gray
Food Can Fix It by Dr. Mehmet Oz
