Limitless - Jim Kwik Page 0,6
I couldn’t help but share the treasure and lessons I learned. I started tutoring these methods to other students. The turning point came when I worked with a freshman who wanted to learn how to read faster, boost comprehension, and retain the information she was studying. She worked diligently and achieved her goal of reading 30 books in 30 days. I knew how she did it—I taught her the method you’ll learn in Chapter 14—but I wanted to know why. I discovered that her motivation was that her mother had been diagnosed with a terminal cancer, and she was determined to save her by studying books on health, wellness, and medicine. Months later, she called me, crying tears of joy, to tell me that her mother’s cancer was in remission.
It was in that moment that I realized that if knowledge is power, then learning is our superpower. And our capacity to learn is limitless; we simply need to be shown how to access it. Seeing the way this woman’s life was changed ignited in me a purpose, allowing me to recognize what became my life’s mission: to teach the mindset, motivation, and methods to upgrade your brain and learn anything faster so you can unlock your exceptional life.
Over the course of more than two decades, I’ve developed a reliable and proven set of practical methods to enhance learning, many of which appear in this book. I have not only kept my promise to read a book a week, but continue to serve and support everyone from children labeled “learning disabled,” to seniors with brain-aging challenges. Our team, dedicated to the memory of my grandmother, passionately supports Alzheimer’s research. And we believe education is every child’s birthright, funding the creation of schools around the world from Guatemala to Kenya, providing health care, clean water, and learning for children in need via amazing organizations such as WE Charity and Pencils of Promise. That’s our mission—to build better brighter brains. We’re leaving no brain behind.
I’ve taught these techniques to others with astonishing results, leading me to address more than 150,000 people in live audiences each year in every field imaginable, to serve as the brain coach to top personalities in sports and entertainment, to train at many of the world’s leading companies and universities, to head a large accelerated learning online platform with students from 195 countries, and to host a top educational podcast called Kwik Brain, with tens of millions of downloads and to have my teachings receive hundreds of millions of video views. This book is filled with lessons and practical advice I’ve learned over the years, along with wisdom and resources from many of the guest experts who have been featured on our show.
I say all of this because, having dedicated my life to researching and teaching this subject, I know what’s inside this book and, more importantly, I know what’s inside you.
FINDING PROFESSOR X’S SCHOOL
There’s a serendipitous coda to this story. As I mentioned, I regularly offer brain coaching to CEOs and their teams. A few years ago, Jim Gianopulos, then CEO and Chairman of 20th Century Fox, invited me to do a coaching session with his executive team. I went onto the film lot on a Friday morning and spent several hours with top staff members. They were particularly open to my message, and they instantly connected with the techniques.
When the session was over, Jim came up to me and said, “That was incredible. It was one of the very best training sessions we’ve ever held.” I was delighted to hear this, of course. Who doesn’t love positive feedback? Later, during a tour of the lot, my eye landed on a poster for the Wolverine movie, which was scheduled to come out later that year. I pointed to the poster and said, “I can’t wait to see that film. I’m a huge fan.”
“Oh, you like superheroes?” Jim said.
“Love ’em. The X-Men have played a major role in my life.” I went on to tell him about my childhood brain injury, how comic books helped me learn to read, and my search for Professor X’s school.
He smiled at me. “You know, we have another 30 days of shooting on the next X-Men movie in Montreal. Why don’t you come along and spend a week on the set? The actors would love to work with you.”
There was no way I was going to turn this down. I’d never been on a movie set before, and this wasn’t just any movie