Limitless

This is going to seem like a strange way to open up but stick with me on this one.

• Fire Hydrant

• Balloon

• Battery

• Board

• Barrel

• Diamond

• Knight

• Ox

• Toothpaste

• Sign

These might seem like completely random words that I’ve chosen to list down but they’re actually a very specific list of words that I committed to memory over a month ago to test if Jim Kwik knew what he was talking about in his book, ‘Limitless’. It actually surprises me that I can recall all of these words, especially after how much trouble I had in the first place. The truth is, when this book was recommended to me, I didn’t know it was going to be about improving memory so what I’ve gained from reading this has all been a pleasant surprise.

I first heard about Limitless a few months ago after I spoke at a small event in Kiama where I was lucky enough to stay around afterwards for dinner to get to know some of the guests a little better. Whenever I get the chance to connect more with the groups I speak to, I’ll often take it because it’s such a great opportunity to learn a bit more about the people and what they took away from my story. Without this dinner, I’m not sure if I would have committed to reading the book based on the wild promises on its cover.

“Upgrade your brain, learn anything faster, and unlock your exceptional life”

Sounds a little too grandiose for me… So obviously the recommendation was one that had to hold some weight and I do want to back up a little to speak about that.

When it comes to dealing with nerves in speaking, one tip I’ve heard a number of times is to find someone in the audience who looks welcoming and receptive to what you’re saying so when you’re feeling overwhelmed or doubtful, you know where to look for that little nod or smile of reassurance. It’s a great idea in theory but I always tend to find myself doing the opposite.

I somehow find the person who’s sitting there with their arms crossed, slightly distant, and often looking over the top of a pair of glasses as if you have to earn their approval. I’ll come back to look at how they react when I go through the impactful parts of my speech to see if it moves the needle. Sometimes you get that slight nod of approval which is a big confidence booster, and sometimes they remain unmoved in their pose which just makes me more determined to win them over by the end.

This is probably not the most healthy way of presenting because, at the end of the day, you’re speaking to an audience, not just one person so it is something I’m working on. However, the reason I bring this up, is the person I ended up sitting next to at dinner was the person I’d spent the entire presentation trying to win over.

Much to my surprise, they were very complimentary of what I had to say and they even shared some of their own thoughts and experiences which I found incredibly interesting. So, if lesson number 1 is to focus on presenting to the collective, then lesson number 2 is a friendly reminder to not judge a book by its cover (literally and figuratively it turns out).

This is where the introduction to ‘Limitless’ came in. This person was talking about what they took away from my story and said that one thing that was evident when comparing what I was told by doctors, to what I had achieved, was that the limiting beliefs of yourself and others were such a magnificent thing to overcome. They then compared this to what I’ve found out is the backbone of ‘limitless’ which is about making a defined choice to acknowledge and cast away the limiting beliefs that often prevent us from doing the things we’d love to do, and being the people we’d love to be.

It’s a very simple concept that can be a difficult obstacle to overcome but the way Jim structures his stories and goes about explaining his ideas sheds a new light on what can be achieved with knowledge and self-belief.

So, this recommendation that came from a person I wanted to understand, who had seen parallels to my story in a way that interested me was what led me to pick up the book in the first place. Only when I started reading it did I find out how much more was on offer in these pages. I became particularly interested to see what I could learn about memory, as evident in my intro, and speed reading to help out with my goal of reading more this year.

Both of these have been tools that I’m starting to use to great effect and I’m intrigued to see what they can bring me long term. If you’re interested in reading about tangible learning tools, this is an automatic recommendation from me so with that in mind, I’d like to focus on a couple of points that sat with me enough to take notes to reflect on later.

The most profound thought Jim speaks about is related to identity and our ability to influence the way we look at ourselves. He says “They say the two most powerful words in the English language are the shortest: ‘I am.’ Whatever you put after those words determines your destiny.”

In this context, he is talking about someone’s ability to change the narrative around what they think is possible. If you’re someone who says “I am not someone who is good at remembering”, then the chances of you being able to improve your memory are very slim. The first step in changing the outcomes you want in life is by changing the thoughts and the words you speak.

Trust me when I say the actions are the easy part. Once I started viewing my recovery post-attack differently by adjusting the self-talk, it made heading into rehab every single day a whole lot easier. Once you start to enjoy the process of doing, you realise the outcome is just a nice byproduct of implementing some actions that make you proud that you tried in the first place.

“When you’re persistent in life, you can achieve it. When you’re consistent in life, you get to keep it.”

This is a quote that was quickly highlighted when I came across it. I could use all sorts of analogies when it comes to working out and staying fit and strong. In fact, this is something that hits close to home after my focus on running over the past 18 months has been to the detriment of time in the gym and my overall strength and health. But to me, the better focus is on overall habits that we work so hard to build up.

There’s a pattern that I’ve seen and experienced so many times in life which is that when people are in a bad place, they get the determination and energy to put things in place to turn things around. They’ll try things like journaling, focusing on better sleep, exercising, and reconnecting with their friends and passions. After a while, they see things turn around and they are in a much better place than they were before.

But when that balance and turnaround is achieved, what’s the first thing to go? I can guarantee journaling will be the first one deemed not as necessary, then the others will invariably follow which then begins the slide to where it all started.

These ebbs and flows in life and natural and I don’t think they can ever be absolutely avoided but I speak to so many people who realise the most sensible path to get back to their best is to simply do the things that they do when they’re at their best. It all comes down to consistency and in my experience of knowing how hard it can be to achieve some things in life, I owe it to myself to be consistent in order to make the most of what I do have.

This book is full of so many concepts that I’m sure will benefit a lot of people. Despite the fact that I’ve talked so much about the mindset behind the book, there are a lot of tangible things that help this book live up to its lofty front cover claims.

I’m grateful for the recommendation and when you see me next time, ask me if I can remember the story about the fire hydrant and I’ll see if I can list off the 10 objects I started this whole article with.