#17 | 10X Your Mindset Today With Jim Kwik

Jim Kwik is all about “Kwikly” teaching you how to learn more effectively. I know I know, lame dad joke but I couldn’t resist the “Kwik” reference. Jim’s last name is a perfect fit for his business, Kwik Learning! After several accidents as a child, Jim was left with learning difficulties. Instead of giving in to the mountain in front of him, Jim took this as a challenge and decided to learn in different, more effective ways. Through his company, Kwik Learning, he now shares the secrets, hacks and processes he has perfected to help us learn faster and more effectively. In plain terms, he teaches people how to learn!

Choosing Positivity (12:20)

“Life is the C between B and D”.  But…what the heck does that mean?! Originally stated by a french philosopher, Jean Paul Sarte, Jim uses this phrase as a lens to reflect on the perspective of life. In the quote, the B stands for birth and the D stands for death, and the is C our CHOICES. Our choices are what matter between B and D. How we choose to to interpret, behave and react to life is all within our control. While, it can be hard to choose positivity during hard times like the ones we find ourselves in, Jim has given us a good place to start with his book Limitless. Reading the book and digging deeper into its principals can be helpful for those looking for how to gain more out of their lives.

Trained vs Untrained Memory (14:50) 

Did you know one-third of our memory is determined by genetics but two-thirds is under our control? Jim’s powerful statement, “You need to understand how your memory works so you can work your memory,”  stuck with me after our meeting. If our memory is under our control we can work on getting rid of the moments where we say, “I can’t remember” or “What was that again?” Questions that far too often I find myself asking.

Jim’s View on Technology (19:20)

Technology is neither inherently good or bad it is merely how you apply it. While this concept can be a bit lofty to wrap your head around I found Jim’s fast analogy brought it home easily, “Fire can be great to cook your dinner but it can also burn your house down.” Technology can be used for good by helping us learn more or it can be used poorly and allowing our brains to atrophy by outsourcing all of our thinking for us. Our brains are muscles that we either choose to “use or lose” based on how much we “work them”. While technology can be helpful don’t rely on it completely, instead use it as a tool in your arsenal.

How Are You Smart? (22:45)

It’s not about how smart you are it’s about how are you smart. Sit on that thought for a second! HOW you learn is more important than WHAT you learn. A great “how” to start with is reading. Reading helps strengthening your mind and the best part is it doesn’t matter what you read. Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction, reading boosts your emotional and intellectual intelligence. While many people buy “self-help” books and they become, as Jim called them, “shelf-help” books because they never actually get picked up and read. I know I’ve been guilty of some “shelf-help” in the past. If you’re looking for a book to pick up the list we created from our first live coffee meeting is a great place to start!

Sleep Tips 36:50

Jim confided in us that sleep has been one of his biggest obstacles in life due to his extensive travel schedule and sleep apnea. While he can’t reveal everything he’s learned from his sleep coach, here are some of the tips he’s learned over the years:

1. When you wake up expose yourself to direct sunlight for 10 minutes if possible.

2. Do not drink caffeine after 2 PM.

3. Darken your room!  Buy blackout curtains, cover your alarm clock, and do not look at any type of screen (phone, tablet, TV). (Yikes! This last one is hard!)

Reaction & Distraction 40:00

Jim has a very strict morning routine. Are you seeing a trend with our guests lately? Between Brooke’s 4 AM wake up power hour and Jim’s alarm clock it seems everyone we’ve been meeting with is early to bed, early to rise.

Jim’s biggest piece of morning advice: avoid your phone for the first hour of the day. Put it in another room so it’s not right in front of you. We are addicted to our phones and it’s easier to say “no” to picking up the phone once versus leaving it in front of you and having to say no over and over again when your mind wants you to reach for it.

When I told Jim about my “no music, no podcast, no nothing” rule in the morning he quickly agreed which made me feel good. If i don’t have the phone stuff down at least I have the silent part working for me! He also shared something I have been doing lately which is scheduling “white space”. Time in your day to just sit with your thoughts. I think you’ll be surprised the ideas you come up with when your distractions are taken away! I’ve found it to be really valuable the last few months.

Focus & Motivation 45:50

“Focus is not something you have, it’s something you do”. Create focus, create purpose, and create motivation each and every day.

Jim shared his formula for motivation:  “P x E x S3”

This equation translates to: Purpose times Energy times Small Simple Steps = Motivation

While Jim’s explanation of purpose and energy were straight forward I resonated with his small simple steps or what I like to call, baby steps. These baby steps can be as simple as, “I’m going to open a book today” notice I didn’t say read but simply open the book on the counter. Or “I’m going to put on my running shoes” notice I didn’t say actually run. If you keep going with baby steps each day they add up to big changes.

Kwik Questions 53:48

• Where did you get that shirt?! Jim’s Website!

• What can we do for young children or older parents to help strengthen their brains?

Check out  Jim’s Book because there is SO much to learn on this one! Here is a snapshot of the top 10 things:

1. Eat healthy food

2. Have positive self-talk

3. Regular exercise

4. Consume brain nutrients

5. Have a positive peer group (who we spend time with is who we become!)

6. Create a clean environment

7. Sleep

8. Brain protection (especially for kids, wear helmets!)

9. New learnings

10. Stress management

• One thing everyone should try this week? Rate yourself on the above list from 0-10.  How well are you doing with the things listed above? Do a self assessment and evaluate where you can start to make small simple steps in a more positive direction.

Next week

Erik Huberman the CEO of Hawke Media is joining us. Eric’s company focuses on outsourcing everything a CMO would do from marketing and social media to branding and consumer engagement. He works with a wide range of clients from startup brands like Tamara Mellon to major brands like Red Bull and Alibaba.

Eric’s achieved a hit list of accolades from Forbes “30 Under 30” to Inc.’s “Top 25 Marketing Influencers” all while growing his company from 75 to over 150 employees!

He’s going to have so much to share with us! I look forward to seeing you there!