Right About Now with Ryan Alford - Supercharged Success Strategy from Jim Kwik

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's really hard to achieve anything beyond what you believe is possible, especially your belief about yourself. This is Right About Now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. We are the number one business show on the planet with over 1 million downloads a month. Taking the BS out of business for over six years and over 400 episodes. You ready to start snapping necks and cashing checks? Well, it starts right about now. What's up, guys? Welcome to Right About Now. I'm Ryan Alford, your host. And you know, I think about a lot, how we make your lives right, how we make them more now. And look,

Starting point is 00:00:41 there's nothing more fascinating to me. I've been digging into the brain a lot lately neuroscience is kind of on my mind some of my friends are trying to talk me into like this neuroscience investment all this but i'm fascinated by what it takes to learn and how the brain works so you know what we got to go to the expert and that's jim quick he's the author of limitless and just a brain badass that That's what I'll call you, Jim. What's up? Thanks, Ryan. I appreciate it. Thanks to everyone who's tuning into this brain upgrade conversation. Hey, the number one brain coach, baby. You know, like we got to go to the best. I'm like, I got to sit your book. I'm going through it. I've got my highlighter

Starting point is 00:01:23 out. I've got notes. I'm like, okay, how are we going to learn more about the brain? How we, how we learn better. And you know what, Jim, I told you this pre-episode, but like I've got four boys and they're young and they're growing up and you know, like I see the homework they're doing that I did, you know, myself 40 years ago. And I'm like, why aren't these guys should have a mandated reading of limitless. What do we have to do to make that happen? And I'm like, why aren't these guys should have a mandated reading of Limitless. Thank you.

Starting point is 00:01:46 What do we have to do to make that happen? You know, Limitless is really an owner's manual for your brain. You know, your brain is your number one wealth building asset. Everyone is listening. Nobody is paid. It's not like it was hundreds of years ago where our value in society was our brute strength. Today, it's our brain strength. It's no longer your muscle power.

Starting point is 00:02:03 It's important to have, but it's also your mind power. And the faster you can learn, the's our brain strength. It's no longer your muscle power. It's important to have, but it's also your mind power. The faster you can learn, the faster you could earn. Because knowledge stays in only power. Knowledge is profit. And yeah, it's interesting. In school, they teach you what to learn, math, history, science, but there's zero classes on how to learn. And I really feel like that's the thing that's missing. You talk about your children, they're learning things that may or may not be that relevant, but certainly what is very relevant is learning how to focus, learning how to concentrate, learning how to think,

Starting point is 00:02:37 learning how to understand, learning how to solve problems, learning how to get into flow states and master your habits, learning how to remember things. Because when you can do all those things, then everything in your life gets easier. If you can learn faster, you can apply that towards money, marketing, management, martial arts, music, Mandarin. Everything gets easier. So I think it's the ultimate skill to have.

Starting point is 00:02:57 It's an area called meta-learning, the science of learning how to learn. And learning can be fun, something that can be easier. I think people are working way too hard to learn, learning can be fun you know something that could be easier i think people are working way too hard to learn to study to memorize a speech they have to give or on stage or a video sales you know sales video or scripts and remembering names you know or they buy books and they sit on their shelf unread and become shelf help not self-help you know i just feel like there's a huge opportunity here for people to upgrade their number one wealth building technology, which is, which is your brain. And that's the

Starting point is 00:03:30 nature of my work. Well, it's going to be required reading. My son Clayton's 14. And I'll tell you this one right here with my highlights is literally going to him today. I wanted to have this episode first. I didn't lose it. But Clayton Alford will be getting Limitless for a gift tonight at the Alford dinner table. I love it. You got three parts in the book, mindset, motivation, and methods. Those are the keys to being limitless. You know, I will say if you can master yourself, you can master anything. We're such complex people.

Starting point is 00:04:04 And I think we externalize so many things. It's like, oh, how do I master these things around me? You know, we try to control when we need to focus more internally. Isn't that somewhat a lot of what we're talking about here? Yeah, I think our external world is a reflection of our internal world, no doubt. I think there's a version of ourself that's patiently waiting. I think the goal is we show up every single day until we're introduced to that person. I feel like we're happiest when we make progress.

Starting point is 00:04:35 Limitless is not about being perfect. It's just about advancing and progressing. You control the controllables. And I think the three things you could always control, if anyone feels limited, like the opposite of limitless, if you're not advancing and feel stuck, like maybe in your income and your impact, your happiness, your learning ability,

Starting point is 00:04:52 whatever, relationships, there's only three forces that keep you stuck in that box, right? That box is three-dimensional. And these are the same three forces that will liberate you and give you freedom outside that box. And I think it's either going to be your mindset, your motivation, or the methods you're using. At any time, we can control our head, our heart, our hands, our will, our way, if you will. And so let's say people want to, the methodology is there, right?

Starting point is 00:05:21 A lot of people know what to do, but they don't do what they know. Common sense is not always common practice. Originally, Limitless, when I was about to submit it, was 100% methodology, how to read three times faster, how to learn languages, how to remember names and faces, how to focus and get in a flow state, get a lot of work done in less time. But before I hit send to send to my publisher I was like well a hundred percent of the people who read this book get the results they're hoping for then my honest answer was no because what keeps you stuck and a lot of people know what to do with the methods but their mindset is I don't

Starting point is 00:05:55 deserve it I don't believe it's possible I don't believe I'm capable maybe it's possible for you but not me I'm not me or it's a matter of your motivation you're not motivated to get out of that box you know and so like you procrastinate you put things off you know what to do you have limitless mindset and limitless upgraded methods on how to market and get you know and angel invest or you know to read faster whatever the methodology is but you're not motivated so we broke that book down into three chapters. And we just recently added a fourth, which is the science of momentum, you know, really creating less friction, things that would advance things like AI,

Starting point is 00:06:34 that create more momentum, things like nootropics, you know, what are the cognitive supplements that would actually enhance human studies shown to improve focus, memory, your mood, your motivation, things like understanding your brain type. We added a whole section there. This is interesting. It's the thing I'm probably most excited about is I realized that after 30 years of teaching people how to have the best brains and perform at their best,

Starting point is 00:06:59 whether it's in the NFL, the NBA nba the you know the the u.s air force i mean wherever where i'm training they i realize it's not how smart you are it's actually how are you smart it's not how smart your kids are it's how are they smart it's not how smart your team is it's like it's not how smart they are it's how are they smart everybody has genius so we made the word this as a playbook but we realized there are four different types of brain types when you understand your brain type. Because not everything works for everybody. Just like not every exercise is for each physiology

Starting point is 00:07:34 or not every food is right for every single person. But we realized that not every tip would help people to read, focus memory based on, but if you find out when they learn their best and how they learn their best, you customize it. So just like there's personalized medicine based on a test, like your DNA test or personalized nutrition based on a microbiome test or a nutrient profile test, we created a four minute test that's in the book. It's also online. And it'll tell you your brain animal. And once you understand it, it opens up whole new worlds of possibility and potential.

Starting point is 00:08:11 And so it's interesting. People could take the test at mybrainanimal.com. I'm curious which animal you would identify, would be yours. But really simply, I could give people a five-minute summary on it. It'd be very practical. Yeah, let's do that. That's good practice. Yeah. People can go through it and they can post it online. They can tag us both so we can see what the dominant animal is in your community. But remember this word code, C-O-D-E. The C are your

Starting point is 00:08:38 cheetahs. And if you're a cheetah, your dominant trait is action. These are individuals that adapt extremely quickly. They thrive in fast-paced environments. They have strong intuition. if you're a cheetah, your dominant trait is action. These are individuals that adapt extremely quickly. They thrive in fast paced environments. They have strong intuition. They implement, they act. It's just like the second nature to them. The O in code. So these are your, if you're watching this on video, this is a cheat. I love this. You got to watch the video. Go to YouTube. Jim. Yeah. Got to go to YouTube to check out the YouTube. This is a audio visual podcast and you got to see what Jim is sharing on screen. Yeah. We're turning this into a masterclass. So the O are your owls and their dominant trait is logic.

Starting point is 00:09:14 So these are people who love data. They love facts. They love figures, formulas. They're very logical and rational. Right. Now, even think about it. A cheetah would learn differently, but they'd also buy differently than an owl who needs evidence, who needs, who wants case studies, right? The D in code are your dolphins and your dolphins, their dominant trait are creativity. They have an incredible imagination. They're great problem solvers. They are often entrepreneurs that could see, they have a vision of their brand or their business that maybe other people can't yet catch up with. They don't see it yet. They're very passionate about it. They're great with pattern recognition.

Starting point is 00:09:53 And then finally, the E are your elephants. And your elephants, their primary dominant trait is empathy. These are people who are very compassionate. They are people people. The interpersonal skill is very strong. They have a lot of empathy, so they care. They want people to feel seen. They want people to feel heard.

Starting point is 00:10:11 They use inclusive language. Instead of me and I, they'll use more words like we and us. And it's interesting because these four brain types, they learn differently. It's kind of like if somebody's listening and they remember a time where they didn't get something, for some reason they're frustrated. Maybe the way the teacher teaches is different than the way that you learn. And their brain type is different than your brain type. And you're like two ships in the night.

Starting point is 00:10:38 You pass each other. And there's no connection. You don't even recognize the other ones there. And so everybody has a dominant brain type it could change over time but just like if you're right-handed doesn't mean you don't use your left hand doesn't mean you're not strong in other areas but you have a certain trait that just is dominant and it makes your life easier where does this play out like we had our our team take this assessment you know this is the assessment and we're making it free for your audience. So it's again, mybrainanimal.com.

Starting point is 00:11:06 They'll get prescriptions on how to read faster, improve their memory, give speeches without notes, but also how to sell and how to be able to market, how to be able to parent, because that's all brain type. Everything's coming from this control center between our ears. So for example, our team took it and 100% of our customer service team

Starting point is 00:11:27 are elephants. We didn't even hire for that. But when you know what your strength is, you're going to look for places where you're in your element. The roles and responsibilities that go to your passions and your power. It's a customer service team, our elephants, why? Because they have high empathy, they want people to feel passions and your power. And so like in our, you know, it's a customer service team or elephants. Why? Because they have high empathy.

Starting point is 00:11:46 They want people to feel seen and heard, you know, their success is based on our students' success. There are community builders, they pull people together, right? You know, our CFO is, is extreme owl, loves the numbers, loves the data. My business partner, our CEO, she's a dolphin. She's our visionary that's holding the vision constant. And so it's interesting. You see this in pop culture too.

Starting point is 00:12:13 I mean, if you take, I don't know, probably a popular show like Friends, Ross Geller was a scientist professor. He's the owl, right? Phoebe was the creative musician. She's the dolphin. Joey is just acts doesn't even think, goes on intuition

Starting point is 00:12:28 cheetah Monica always had all the parties at her place brought her little friends together wanted to host everything, she's the elephant so once you understand how people's brains are you would sell to these different brain types different you would coach them differently

Starting point is 00:12:43 you would market to them differently you would even relate in personal relationships differently to these different brain types different. You would coach them differently. You would market to them differently, right? Because you would even relate and relate personal relationships differently because it's kind of like love languages. Yeah. You know, love languages, the five languages. I was thinking that same thing, Jim.

Starting point is 00:12:54 I was going thinking about my wife and not communicating. I was going, I was thinking, this would work for our communication probably too. So much so because in love languages, we tend to express love the way we prefer to receive it. But two people could have different types and then miss each other, even though they sincerely love each other. So cheetahs, even in communication style, you'll see cheetahs are direct and they're decisive. They try to get straight to the point.

Starting point is 00:13:18 Their speech is concise. They focus on action. They dislike beating around the bush because it just takes time. Owls communicate differently they prefer details they prefer a logical sequence a presentation of facts and figures and data you know they're they're they're just more more rational that way dolphins would would communicate differently they would be more they'd be more expressive they would often speak about the bigger picture about future plans plans, about innovative ideas. They're very passionate and excited about possibility.

Starting point is 00:13:48 And your elephants, their communication is keen on understanding and validating the feelings and perspectives of others. They're more patient. They take the time to listen. situation, if you're selling to, because I know you've had tremendous success as a business marketing podcast also, if you're selling to a cheetah, they appreciate directness. They appreciate value efficiency. Skip the small talk, present the

Starting point is 00:14:16 key benefits, demonstrate how the product or service can give them immediate results. But for an owl, they're different. They respect evidence. They appreciate well-researched presentations, statistics, case studies. Be prepared to answer in-depth questions, give them time to ponder over their decisions. Dolphins, if you're selling to them, speak to their visions. Show them how your offering fits into a larger picture or how it could pave a way to future innovations, engage them in possibility of big ideas. If you're selling to an elephant, yes, vision is good and data is good,

Starting point is 00:14:48 but the relationship is paramount for an elephant, right? So the value relationship, they value trust, you want to spend time understanding their needs, demonstrate you genuinely care about their success, and that you're going to be there post-sale. So there's different ways, but my point in bringing this up is once you understand how your brain works, you can work your brain. And you can personalize it.

Starting point is 00:15:11 And then it's interesting. You text this to your team, text it to your family, your spouse. It just takes the judgment out of it also. It explains their behavior a lot based on their brain type. And then also takes a self-judgment off of ourselves, you know, in terms of recognizing where we're strong and the traits that we have or lack. I mean, self-awareness is one of the biggest traits. And it's one of those words we kick around, you know, phrases, but like the power of it is so important. And look, let me just say this for our audience.

Starting point is 00:15:53 The value that Jim just delivered right there, if you really digest that, I need you to hit rewind. Go back and listen. Figure out, go take the test and figure out what type you are. But what Jim just broke down for you there isn't just so you know yourself, which is super important. It's so you, how you know how to apply yourself against different types to lead to the activities and the actions that you want to happen. And that's real value, Jim. I really appreciate that breakdown. And I was sitting there going, so here's my problem. I was sitting there listening to you talk and I go, damn, if a cheat and a dolphin had a baby, I'm it. And it and uh and i'm not sure which one i am which i know i'm creative probably more than anything i'm not type a i'm definitely more creative but i i go fast and then my wife is a

Starting point is 00:16:36 uh owl is it owl elephant what's the last the e yeahphant is empathy. I don't know why we're opposites attract, I guess. She's the, we're a brand of those two animals. Yeah. Compliment really well. And it didn't like even examples of like focus is a superpower nowadays. We need to be able to generate focus and concentrate to get things done. You know, a cheetah, we prefer short bursts of focus. They use techniques that we teach in limitless like the pomodoro technique where you focus for 25 to 45 minutes you know um with intensely for short periods then you follow then you do a little brain break right but this would this would align with the cheetah's fast-paced nature they could also during these brain breaks

Starting point is 00:17:21 incorporate some kind of physical movement um because they get a little restless sitting all the time before and after a focus session to help them to focus. A cheetah would give them clear goals. Cheetahs work best when they have a clear target and a destination. So setting specific achievable goals are very strong for them. But owls, they work a little different. You can enhance their focus by something simple like organizing their workspace, minimizing clutter, having a structured plan for meetings and tasks, breaking things down into bite-sized bits to maintain their focus, prevent overwhelm, scheduling deep work sessions.

Starting point is 00:17:58 Dolphins are different. With our dolphins, we have the mind mapping things, which is a visual note-taking, making way that they could see the whole picture. We give them creative breaks to help them reinvigorate to prevent burnout. We have a variety of tasks because dolphins can lose focus if they get bored, right? Elephants are different. Elephants, it's all about their focus comes from other people. So working in teams or groups can help elephants stay focused and stay on task. They draw energy from social interactions. They love maybe even having, they benefit from constant, consistent routines that involve

Starting point is 00:18:36 regular breaks and time for them to connect with themselves and reflect and have empathy and all that. But I do believe self-awareness is a superpower. I totally agree with you. There's a sign, I don't know if a lot of people saw it, in Matrix, the movie The Matrix, where Keanu Reeves goes to see the Oracle. Neo goes to see the Oracle in her kitchen, I think.

Starting point is 00:18:57 And she was like baking cookies. If you look above, because that's like where he's going to get the wisdom, right? Right above the door was a little sign. I think most people missed it, but it says, know thyself. And it's so interesting when you talk about, when you were talking about self-awareness that, you know, I think part of our success for everyone here, I feel like if you could relate to this, let us know, but it's having the curiosity to know yourself, right?

Starting point is 00:19:22 And then having the courage to be yourself. That's a different game. Having the curiosity to know yourself, which is maybe you having the courage to be yourself. That's a different game. Having the curiosity to know yourself, which is maybe you go to therapy or you're doing your plant medicine or you're journaling or you're meditating, you know, introspection. But then some people really know themselves. They know what they value. They know what their mission is. They know what they stand for, right? They have a clear identity, but they're not being that person because it takes courage you know and you know when other people's opinions and you know their other people's expectations and fear looking you know a different way but there's definitely an art and science to you know to to to our growth and our success yeah but i do think doing these exercises

Starting point is 00:20:01 i think it removes some of those barriers like it drops some of those walls because I think a lot of people, I mean, look, we're all, we all fear. Nobody likes judgment. I mean, no matter how I feel like I'm as Teflon to it as most people, because I really don't give a shit. But, but I'm not inhuman. And so I, but it helps when you know yourself though, because then you're aware of these things. It's self-awareness combined with emotional intelligence. It's like, boom, you know, like, and that's how we do it. We got to get limitless, baby. So I do like, this is one of my favorite quotes from the book. I'm going to, I'm going to jump right into it. Knowledge is

Starting point is 00:20:42 power. That's lie number four. You'll, you'll understand when you read the book. I'm going to jump right into it. Knowledge is power. That's lie number four. You'll understand when you read the book. New belief, knowledge has to be acted on. Knowledge combined with action equals power. I circled that. I think I put four highlight colors on it. I almost colored off the page. When you said it, I got goosebumps. I call them truth bumps. But yeah, in the mindset section, we unravel limiting beliefs because your brain is like this incredible supercomputer and your self-talk is a program that will run. So if you tell yourself, I'm not good at remembering names, you won't remember the name of the next person you meet because you program your computer not to. If people truly understood how powerful their mind is, they wouldn't say or think something they didn't want or think something they

Starting point is 00:21:25 didn't want to be true. And that's not to say you have negative thought and ruins your life any more than eating a donut would ruin your life. But if you eat that donut 30 times a day, every single day, there would definitely be consequences. Same thing with our thoughts. When I go to events and speak, if there's time, I'll do these demonstrations. Let's say there's 5,000 people in the audience. We'll pass around the microphone and 100 people introduce themselves and I'll memorize all their names, right? Or they'll give me, we'll put a whiteboard on the stage and they'll write down 100 words, numbers or whatever. I'll memorize it. But I always tell people, I don't do this to impress you. I do this to express to you what's possible because the truth

Starting point is 00:22:01 is every single one of your listeners, they could that too regardless of their age or their background or education level financial situation gender history iq we just weren't taught right and so i'm on this mission for the past 32 years you know i'm in my 50s i mean i've been doing this a long time you're like ageless but yeah but i think a lot like it's a state of mind, right? But I realized that because I grew up with learning challenges. I had a traumatic brain injury when I was five. I had migraines every day. I thought it was normal.

Starting point is 00:22:37 I would have balance issues. I would be very awkward. It took me three years longer to learn how to read. I was put in special education. When I was nine, I was slowing down to class and being teased pretty harshly. Teacher came to my defense and from the whole class point to me, said, leave that kid alone. That's the boy with the broken brain. But that label became my limit.

Starting point is 00:22:55 So talk about mindset. Every single time I did badly in school, I would say, oh, because I have the broken brain. Every time I wasn't picked for sports, I was a guy with a broken brain. So that was my mindset. And it's really hard to achieve anything beyond what you believe is possible, right? Especially your belief about yourself. At the same time, when I was going through my challenges, when I was seven, I lost my grandmother to Alzheimer's. And it's heartbreaking to anyone who's ever experienced a family member having dementia. Especially when I was five, six, she would call me by my father's name.

Starting point is 00:23:26 She would repeat something she just said 30 seconds ago. So we donated all the proceeds to Limitless. In the first couple of years, he sold a million copies of the book, 40 different languages. We donated it all to charity. I mean, we built schools in Ghana, Guatemala, Kenya, Alzheimer's research, you know, in memory of my grandmother. But I bring this up because I think as a philosophy, you learn to earn to return, right?

Starting point is 00:23:50 You know, to have more to be able to give and, you know, have that impact. That being said, I will do this tirelessly and I'll do this in front of audiences. And even though I'm very introverted, you know, very shy, my superpower growing up as a kid was being invisible because i never knew the answers right like and i was always being picked on so i always like slumped down try to take up less space because i don't want to be seen i would sit behind the tall kid in class or sit all the way in the back i mean my two biggest challenges were learning and public speaking because i never knew anything and with the universe has a sense of humor because what do i do every day is i probably speak to this thing called learning.

Starting point is 00:24:28 But just a reminder to everybody that our challenges lead to change, that our struggles give us strength. I don't know, Ryan, maybe you know. I don't know one strong person that had an easy life. I just don't. My thing is I believe that we are the pilot of our minds. We don't want you know, and just, you know, my, my thing is, I believe that our, that we are the pilot of our minds. We don't want to be the passenger. And, uh, you know, I just want to show people really what they're capable of, you know, because I had so much struggles, I've learned some things to compensate and I feel a more obligation to share with people

Starting point is 00:24:58 because shame on me if other people are struggling with, you know, lack of focus, lack of motivation, lack of, you know, belief in themselves, lack of, uh, you know, lack of focus, lack of motivation, lack of, you know, belief in themselves, lack of, you know, like just forgetfulness, you know, all the things that we help brain fog, all the things I was struggling with for most of my life. Talking with Jim quick, we're just going to call him the founder of the brain operating system. the founder of the brain operating system. That's what it should be. The BOS, baby.

Starting point is 00:25:30 And so it is. And I distill. That's what my brain does. I listen to people talk. I distill things. And, you know, here's what I love about you, Jim. A lot of people write books. Now we've got a lot of knowledge experts out there, and they don't have a story for why they did it.

Starting point is 00:25:45 It's just, you know, regurgitated or things like that. What really comes across in the book and with talking with you is I feel like when you just told that story, I feel the pain and I feel the learning and like what you went through to. That's what it's like. That struggle made the BOS. You know what I mean? So like that, that's what it's like that struggle made the BOS, you know what I mean? So like that, that's what your gift is. You know, you went through that, you know, down in the Valley to come back up to the mountaintop, you know, to, to bring this gift.

Starting point is 00:26:18 And I, and I think, you know, I taking my mess and turn it into my message. I really feel that we all, I don't know, like I have this thing in the book that talks about the difference between passion and purpose, right? And for me, the utility of it is like passion is something that lights you up. And I hope a lot of people who are listening have things that light them up. I mean, it's not limited to one thing. You can be very passionate about a lot of things, things that light you up. And I feel like our purpose is how you use your passion to light other people up. So for example, learning is my passion. It wasn't always because I was a horrible learner and probably worse than anybody listening to this, but it eventually became my passion. So that lights me up. Teaching people how to learn

Starting point is 00:26:59 lights other people up. So that's my purpose. And I feel like it's hard to stop somebody who knows where they're going and why they're going there. I think things have to go from your head to your heart to your hand. People listening, maybe I can relate to this. You have goals in your head or resolutions or KPIs or whatever. But if you're not acting with your hands consistently, you have to check in with the second H, which is your heart, right? The symbol of emotion and energy. And I feel like even remembering people's names, a lot of people don't remember names because they're not emotive. There's no,

Starting point is 00:27:32 there's no, you remember, you don't remember all names, but you don't forget all names. I guarantee you the names that you tend to remember, genius leaves clues. There's a method behind what looks like magic. So it's not happened randomly. You're probably attracted to that person or that person be good for your business, right? So it happens naturally. So nature of my work is seeing that genius and showing you how to apply that genius in other areas, areas that you're doing really well in where you can focus, where you can remember easily and effortlessly, where you can get in that flow state. How can you map that over into areas that you don't have that focus or that flow or that or you have that forgetfulness or something else but it's it's magical what the

Starting point is 00:28:09 mind can do like i'm so excited and optimistic even with you mentioned ai you know like i'm very excited about that like for me technology is a tool for us to use and it's just how it's used right like fire is in the earliest form of technology fire can be used to cook your food or fire can burn down your home. It's just really how it's applied, the intention behind it. But for AI, we have a whole chapter in the updated version of Limitless on how to use AI to enhance your HI, your human intelligence. For me, I think it could be a complete magnifier. For me, it's not artificial intelligence.

Starting point is 00:28:44 It's more augmented intelligence. Augmented is like a tool or a partner for you. It supports you. Curated intelligence. Exactly. And I'm so excited about the future of education because you get that personalized learning around AI, which makes it a lot simpler and stronger.

Starting point is 00:29:02 But even the things I'm mentioning, like if I mention neuroplasticity, somebody could go into some chat bot and says, explain to me neuroplasticity as if I'm 10 years old. And that could give you a nice foundation, understanding of something. Literally all the techniques and principles you're learning in Limitless, you could go into AI.

Starting point is 00:29:23 So when I'm talking about mind mapping, you could upload something into an AI program and say, mind map this for me. Or build a memory palace for the speech I need to be able to easily remember. It could help do space review, which is a technique we teach about where you quiz yourself on things that you're learning.

Starting point is 00:29:42 We have a podcast, maybe 400 episodes, like a 20 minute show. And sometimes if I'm interviewing an expert and I didn't get their book in time, maybe got lost in the mail, I could go in there and say, give me a summary of this book or give me proposed 10 thoughtful questions this person hasn't been asked before publicly that my brain audience would appreciate. So it's a wonderful partner. I don't use anything verbatim, but it's a wonderful creative partner also as well. And so I feel like AI is a wonderful tool again.

Starting point is 00:30:16 With technology, it's kind of a double-edged sword though. I just want to make sure that people are still doing the work. It's kind of like, there's this term that I talk about, like four horsemen of the mental apocalypse i think are affecting all of us and it's like invisible because we're so used to it's kind of like the the fish in the water doesn't know the water's there because it's that's it's known it its whole life right and you can't see always what's right in front of you but the first one's digital distraction like how do you maintain your concentration in a world flow rings, pings, dings, app notifications, social media alerts, and we're getting this dopamine flood for every like, share, comment, cat video, whatever. You know, that's why we have all sections on, you know,

Starting point is 00:30:53 flow and focus. And we could talk about, you know, how questions could direct your RAS, your reticular activating system. So you could have amazing focus to remember what you read, to remember, and even taking the knowledge that you're saying, like knowledge is potential power is the truth. It's not power is potential power becomes power when you utilize it. And you could change your focus to utilizing information, like even asking three questions throughout this podcast. You know, the things I ask every time you listen to this show, right? So every time everyone subscribe, right? To write about now you're subscribing, you're listening to it and you're asking three questions. How can I

Starting point is 00:31:29 use this? Why must I use this? And when will I use this? I mean, these are three questions I ask dozens of times a day and it helps me take knowledge and turn it into real power and profit. So I'm obsessed, you know, throughout conversations, I'll be like, how can I use this? And I'll think of all these ways. And then why must I use this? Because a lot of people know what they do, but they are not, they have no impetus. And without a reason, you won't get the result or the reward, right? Because we're not logical. You know, how people say they don't buy logically, they buy emotionally, and that's definitely more elephants and creative dolphins. But we are not logical logical we are biological you think about dopamine oxytocin serotonin endorphins we're this chemical feeling soup right so we have

Starting point is 00:32:12 to tap into those emotions so i ask myself why how can i use this why must i use this and then when will i use this because i think one of the most powerful productivity performance tools we have is our is our calendar right and if it's not in your schedule, you're just not going to do it. We schedule doctor's appointments or investor meetings or PTA meetings or whatever, but are we scheduling our growth? Are we scheduling our implementation? And so I think a nice guideline for everybody, for every hour you spend learning something, a podcast, an audio book, whatever, spend an equal hour putting it into action and your life,

Starting point is 00:32:45 you'll absolutely change. So that's digital distraction. And one of the things that help you with your focus again are the questions. So those are three good questions. Another one that's getting in the way of people's productivity is digital dementia. I don't know if you've heard this term, it's in healthcare, I didn't coin it. It's just that the high reliance on our devices to store memories for us, meaning your phones keep probably your calendar, your to-do list, every phone number that you have, everyone you've ever met. I mean, think about, Ryan, how many phone numbers you knew growing up. Yeah. And how many current ones. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:33:20 How many current ones do you know? Oh, and I'm going to give you a perfect example of this, Jim. Maps. Think about like I turn the map, my map, like geo, even when I'm local now, places I've gone my whole life, they're like 20 miles away. And like I'm I have to I'm using that. I'm like, I used to know this. Like, yeah, that's exact example. It's like because my brain isn't forced to remember it or I rely on it. It's, that's exactly. Yeah. I call that the third super villain,

Starting point is 00:33:50 which is digital deduction. So digital dementia is the high reliance to memorize, you know, dependent, like the phone numbers I mentioned, right? I don't want, and I don't want to, let me be clear. I don't want to memorize 500 phone numbers, but it should be very concerning. We've lost the ability to remember one phone number

Starting point is 00:34:04 or a pin number or a passcode or a seed phrase or something we just read or something we were about to say or something that was said to us or a person's name, right? I believe two of the most costly words in business are, I forgot. I forgot to do it. I forgot to bring it. I forgot the appointment. I forgot what I was going to say. I forgot what was said to me. I forgot that person's name. It just goes on and on. But memory can be a magnifier. When you can easily remember client information, product information, give sales speeches and scripts from memory, things get a lot easier. So you have digital distraction, digital dementia, and then what you're illustrating, I coined in the book digital deduction, which is exactly right.

Starting point is 00:34:42 With your Maps app, you don't have to think. So you're not exercising what they call your visual spatial intelligence. We used to have to remember where all this stuff was, right? But we're not exercising it. And your brain, it's use it or lose it. It's an organ, but it acts more like a muscle. But if you took your arm, like your muscle, and put it into a sling or a cast for a year, it wouldn't stay the same. It wouldn't grow stronger. It would grow weaker. And that's what digital dimension and digital deduction is, the high reliance on technology to do the work for us so we're not getting the mental fitness. It's similar to, let's map this out to our body. If your office or your

Starting point is 00:35:22 apartment's on the fourth floor and you took an elevator every single time it's convenient, technology is damn convenient but if you're not getting your steps in, it could be crippling if you have to go eight blocks to do some bank transaction and you take an Uber, very convenient but you don't get your steps in so it's this kind of balance because I don't want people to rely on AI to do everything

Starting point is 00:35:45 because then you don't have to think and you never get the benefit of building that mental muscles and keeping them sharp. Finally, besides digital distraction, digital dementia, digital deduction, is just the last one, which is digital deluge. This is the overload we're feeling on a regular basis. I do these programs for Google.

Starting point is 00:36:05 At the time, I remember one time, the chairman's like, the amount of information that's been created since the dawn of humanity, since humans walked the planet to the year 2003, just a couple of decades ago, that amount of information is now created every two days today.

Starting point is 00:36:22 Think about podcasts and YouTube and, you know, social media, just there's so much data. And so the amount of information is doubling at dizzying speeds, but how we read it's the same, how we remember a study is the same. So that growing gap is digital deluge and they call it information anxiety,

Starting point is 00:36:36 higher blood pressure, compression of leisure time, more sleeplessness, you know? And so there's a big health ripple effect from this, you know, so that's why we teach people how to learn faster, how to read faster, how to understand better. And I think that's why in all these things, it's not created by technology.

Starting point is 00:36:51 Technology is amplifying all these things. And it's just going to get worse. And I think that's more reason why we should be taking care of our brain. Your brain, it's about one third of your brain's potential is genetic and like biological, but two thirds is in your control. So while I teach people how to read faster and sharing some of these strategies to focus and read faster, remember better, that's the software. But you have to take care of the hardware, too. So, you know, there are a number of things people could do to have their best, brightest brain that are science-based that people should just kind of consider. Because, again, think about how often you upgrade your technology.

Starting point is 00:37:33 You upgrade your phone. When the new one comes out, you upgrade the apps. But when's the last time we took time to upgrade your mind? And so I give people this acronym. It's just MEDSRX. Just something to think about for everybody meds rx the m is meditation i don't know if you have a kind of a mindfulness practice yourself but for me it's just one of those things where i understand your brain's not supposed to

Starting point is 00:37:57 go 100 miles an hour all that just without any breaks you need to take a pit stop to kind of recover to reset and for me that's Meditation for me is not about being enlightened. It's about invariably when I'm sitting or lying down and my thoughts go to a client or dry cleaning or wherever it goes, when I pull it back to a mantra, a word or my breath, and all of a sudden, I'm exercising and flexing my focus muscles. So then later on, invariably, when my boy's crying or Zoom or my mind goes somewhere else, I have fitness in bringing something back to what's important for me. So I think that's really important. The E in meds, Rx, is exercise. And I know everyone knows this, but I'm going to put a little bit, say it in maybe a little different way so it lands.

Starting point is 00:38:49 I'm not just talking about working out four to five times a week. That's very important. Strength training, incredibly important. You create dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, which is vital for cognitive health and cognitive performance. When you exercise, you create something called BDNF, brain-derived neurotropic factors, which is fertilizer for neuroplasticity. It literally is like fertilizer for your brain to make new connections. So it's so very important. And the primary reason all of us have a brain, the number one reason is to control our movement. And as your body moves, your brain grooves.

Starting point is 00:39:21 So my spin on this is not just doing the physical exercise at the gym for 60, 90 minutes. It's how are you moving throughout the day? They say sitting is the new smoking. I don't know if I'm alone on this, but I'm sitting behind screens all the time nowadays. And it's so important for me, at least every 45 minutes, I set an alarm or so to just take a five-minute brain break. And what do I do during that? First of all, I breathe. I do some kind of breathing exercise because I find if people fall asleep while they read or while they're working, a lot of the time it's because their posture. You collapse your diaphragm, the lower one-third of your lungs absorbs two-thirds of the oxygen. So you're just oxygen deprived. So you need proper airflow. So do your Wim Hof breathing, your box breathing,

Starting point is 00:40:09 your fire breathing, whatever it is. During that five minutes, I also, you'll notice throughout the conversation, if you are watching on YouTube, make sure you subscribe there too, is hydrate. Your brain is 75% water. And a lot of times, I had a neuroscientist nutritionist on our podcast recently, and she said, if you're just 2% dehydrated, you're, you're, you're impairing your cognitive health and cognitive performance and staying hydrated will boost your reaction time and thinking speed upwards of 30%. That's not a little lift. That's a huge lift.

Starting point is 00:40:38 So my brain break, I breathe, I get some, some liquids. And then the third thing is I move, you know, because I just don't want to, like, I feel like also I do my best thinking when I'm moving. You know, there's been studies that have been shown. If you listen to an audio book and you're doing something rhythmic, like you're on an elliptical or treadmill, or you're going for a brisk walk, you actually understand it better and retain it better also as well. So that's, that's exercise. The D is diet. well. So that's exercise. The D is diet. So meds are X. Meditation, exercise, D is diet. And we have two chapters in here on an area of science called neuro nutrition, that your brain is only 2% of your body mass, but it requires 20% nutrients. And some of those nutrients are

Starting point is 00:41:16 different than the rest of your body, right? And so we talk about some of the best brain foods. And again, everyone's bio-individual. Some people have certain allergies and can't absorb certain things as well as other people. But some of my favorite kind of go-to, avocados, blueberries, my favorite. Very neuroprotective. I call them brain berries. Broccoli has something called sulforaphane in it. If you sprout it, it's actually many, many, many more times, which is good for cognitive health and performance. Olive oil. if you sprout it it's actually many many many more times which is good for cognitive health

Starting point is 00:41:45 and performance olive oil if your diet allows eggs the choline in eggs is really good for at least acetylcholine which is very vital for cognitive health and performance helps with your memory green leafy vegetables good for your brain salmon or sardines because your brain's mostly fat so getting your omega-3s your dhas turmerics. Turmeric, the active ingredient is curcumin, which helps to lower systemic inflammation. Walnuts, high in vitamin E. They're very good for neuroprotective for the brain. And dark chocolate, probably everyone's favorite. Dark chocolate, not milk chocolate, not high sugar, good for your brain.

Starting point is 00:42:20 But these are some nutrients that could help you. And if you don't get it from your diet, I always prefer it. Then you supplement. If you don't have turmeric in your diet, then you can supplement it with curcumin. If you're not getting eggs, you could supplement with choline. If you're not getting the flax seeds or the wild salmon or sardines, then you supplement with DHA or omega-3s. And then we talk about nootropics in the book for the very first time in 30 years, I've never talked about. So like the supplements I mentioned are good for cognitive health, but cognitive health is different than cognitive performance. So, you know, we talk about nootropics, which really are the substances that can enhance cognitive function, particularly executive

Starting point is 00:43:02 functioning, memory, creativity, motivation, things like ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb. It improves mental and physical resilience and may help you to reduce stress and improve cognitive function. Something I'm very excited about for an in the nootropic category is this whole coffee fruit extract. Basically, it's the fruit from the coffee plant. It's a by-product usually discarded. It doesn't have caffeine, but it's a very strong antioxidant, has a positive impact on cognitive function. L-theanine, which is what I'm having to be drinking right now in my green tea. It's a popular nootropic, promotes relaxation without the drowsiness and it can enhance brain

Starting point is 00:43:41 function, you know, and probably some, you know, other favorites that some of you might be already using, like, like creatine. You use, most people use it to work out. They use their five grams or whatever. But there's, this is one of the most studied substances for, for human beings. And it's naturally produced by our bodies is predominantly found in meat and fish. And it plays a crucial role in energy metabolism. But a number of studies have shown that creatine supplementation can improve cognitive function, especially in tasks that require short-term memory and quicker thinking. It's been shown to help offset some of the negative effects of a bad night's sleep. So there's so many

Starting point is 00:44:21 different things. Lion's Bane, we actually put a list in here, in Limitless, for those who have it, or you can download it for free. There's nothing to buy. You just go to brainnutrition.com, and that's the current list of 30 ingredients with the spelling, some of the ones I mentioned, and I linked all the human studies to be able to back up its efficacy.

Starting point is 00:44:41 So that's diet. And then last, sorry, this is because it's like training to a masterclass. Ned, RX, uh, his diet S is sleep. I mean, I don't know, Ryan, how's, how's your sleep in general? You know, I get seven hours and probably every night. And if I get nine, I feel a little drowsy. And if I get six, I feel tired. I think it's like my magic. Yeah, so it's the quantity of sleep, but then it's also the quality. It's the amount of the REM sleep and the deep sleep. REM in general, I'm being like super high level,

Starting point is 00:45:17 but REM is kind of where your brain recovers. The deep sleep is where your body recovers, right? And the idea here is like, we all know how we feel, how our brain feels when we don't get a good night's sleep. You know, we can't focus. We have no mental fortitude or energy. We can't, you know, easily solve problems. We're very forgetful. You know, things to think about when it comes to your brain and sleep. When you sleep, you consolidate short to long-term memory. If you have long-term memory issues, you could go to a doctor. You don't have to do an overnight sleep study.

Starting point is 00:45:52 They could send it to you. You could do it in the comfort of your own bed. Some people have undiagnosed sleep apnea or some other thing that they should get addressed. Every time I mention this, I always get on social media, people like, wow, this saved my life. I didn't realize that this was, I stopped breathing 200 times a night and all this stuff. Also, when you sleep, you clean out the, the sewage system kicks in in your brain when you sleep. So it cleans out the beta amyloid plaque that could lead to dementia and other brain aging challenges. So if you're not sleeping, you're not getting that benefit. And the third reason is sleep.

Starting point is 00:46:25 If that wasn't, you know, there are many more reasons. It's where we dream. And I don't think there'll be a lot of people, I talk about this in Limitless, a lot of things in our culture were created, inventions, literature, music was created in dreams. Like Mary Shelley created Frankenstein in her dream. Paul McCartney came up with the song Yesterday in his dream.

Starting point is 00:46:46 A chemist created the Pierog table in his dream. Elias Howe created the sewing machine in his dream. I could just give you a million examples. But the idea here is your brain doesn't shut off at night. In some ways, it's more active, and it's integrating and focusing, coming up with solutions and innovations of what you focused on that entire day. And so that's why in the book, and if you want to watch an interesting video, you can search my name, Jim quick, it's spelled right. K W I K.

Starting point is 00:47:11 My real last name. I didn't change it to do what I do. It's my father's name, my grandfather's name, but, um, put my name in how to remember dreams and you'll see a video with millions of views and just, you know, how to remember your dreams. Cause a lot of people do have incredible creative dreams that could help their life with their work and their personal life or whatever. You come up with solutions, but they forget it, you know? And so that's why sleep.

Starting point is 00:47:31 My favorite sleep tips, I'm curious what yours are, anyone that's listening is, get direct sunlight first thing in the morning. I can't stress this enough. You know, as somebody who, myself, at the height of my career, you know, I was traveling 240 days a year. I could be on three continents in a week. My sleep, jet lag, everything. I have very severe sleep apnea, so I stop breathing 250 times a night.

Starting point is 00:47:55 So every time counts as at least 10 seconds. So I'd wake up suffocating. I use CPAP dental devices. My wife thinks it's very sexy. But I bring this up because I know what it's like to have compromised sleep and how you feel when you're not. But direct sunlight, your eyes are the only part of your brain that's outside of your skull. So it helps to reset your circadian rhythm. Also, most people have an alarm to wake up. I highly recommend you have an alarm to go to bed because your brain loves a schedule and a routine, even on the weekends to go to sleep at the same time wake up at the same time

Starting point is 00:48:28 and then the two biggest movers probably for most people as hunter gatherers we would know it'd be time to sleep because the environment would tell us there'd be decrease in two elemental factors temperature and light so we sleep better when it's darker and when it's cooler the challenges challenges when it comes to dark is our devices, you know, because when you're on your device, not only is it stimulating you, right, mentally, putting you in your executive mode, as opposed to your parasympathetic rest and digest, but the light, the blue light is confusing our mind and thinking it's still daylight. So you don't produce the melatonin, which is the hormone to help you relax, you know, and phase into that sleep. So you don't produce the melatonin, which is the hormone to help you relax and phase into that sleep. So as dark as possible, ideally, the best way of changing habits,

Starting point is 00:49:12 I think, is controlling your environment. For us, we put our phones in our bathroom just so we don't have to grab it first thing in the morning or late at night. And then cooler. Now we're so cold where you're shivering because that'll keep you up. But even if you take a warm bath or a sauna or a warm shower, when you leave the shower, your core body temperature drops and that's a signal to produce melatonin to help you sleep better. But yeah, that's the meds. And then the RX part, meds RX, that's not a pharmaceutical, Yeah, that's the meds. And then the Rx part, meds Rx, that's not a pharmaceutical. R is relationships, you know, having people close to you.

Starting point is 00:49:52 It's one of the, on our podcast, we had the, you know, one of the doctors that's leading the largest study at Harvard on happiness and longevity that decades long. And it says it wasn't exercise and it wasn't nutrition. It was relationships, you know, that led people to be happy. And, you know, so I think we all need people to encourage us, to challenge us, to cheerlead for us, to push us, to be kind to us, to call us on our own BS, you know, and if you haven't found that person, I think you have to be that person for somebody else. You know, I've heard you on videos talk about, you know, like, you know,

Starting point is 00:50:20 the power of the people you spend time with, where the average of the five people, you know, and the reason why is from a science perspective, we have these mirror neurons, mirror like when you're shaving. It's a reflection. We tend to mirror the people around us that we spend most time with,

Starting point is 00:50:33 consciously and unconsciously. And what are we mirroring? I would say watch. The W is words. We use the same words and language as the people around us. The A are actions. Like whether or not you smoke

Starting point is 00:50:44 has less to do with your biological networks. It's your social networks. If everyone spent time with worked out, we would work out. If everyone spent time with eating right, we would eat right. If they were meditating, we would do that same. Smoking, same thing. So actions. The T are thoughts.

Starting point is 00:51:01 We tend to think the same way as people around us. The C and watch our character. We tend to have the same moral compass as the people we spend time with, the same level of integrity. And finally, the H and watch our habits. And I want to remind everyone, first we create our habits, then our habits create us. But we tend to have the same habitual routines as the people we spend most time with, right? Because we're always marrying it. The mirror neurons create empathy and that's what allows us to imitate people around us. Children activate that. That's why there's such fast learners watching, you know, other people.

Starting point is 00:51:33 So that's the R's relationships. And finally X are all the extras, you know, that I know you had our mutual friend, Dave Asprey on like biohacking, cold therapy and hyperbaric chamber and saunas, you know, all that is extra. I would put that last, you know, cause I think the foundational stuff is still, you know, the, the exercise, the diet, the sleep, the relationships, but you know, all those extras. Yeah. But again, everyone wants to know what the magic pill is. There's no magic pill, but there is a process. And I'm really excited about that process. You know, I think it's

Starting point is 00:52:07 achievable for everybody. You know, a lot of things I mentioned, meditation, exercise, you don't have to spend a lot of money to do it. You know, sleep. I mean, these are big needle movers and doesn't necessarily cost.

Starting point is 00:52:17 But no, what we have to do is pay attention to it. Of course. And I'm going to leave everyone as we close out here with Jim Quick with a quote. It's from his book. It's not his quote. It's under thinking. We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. want to take action, you need to get this book. Limitless. I've got it. I've skimmed through it and read it. I did my speed reading that I learned from Jim because I've only had it for a couple weeks before he came on. And I'm learning a lot, but I'm more excited for my son, Clayton. So,

Starting point is 00:52:58 Jim, I can't thank you enough for your time and your gifts. Where can everyone keep up and learn more about everything you're doing i'll summarize what we've talked about um go to brainnutrition.com and get our guide the 30 different ingredients that have human studies that will enhance your focus your memory um my brain animal is probably the most exciting revelation we've made in personal learning um it's a free test for your community it takes four minutes text it to your to your friends and family members, see what brain animal they are. It'll definitely engage some industry in conversation. You also get reports from me on how to sell and market and learn and read faster based on your brain animal. So that's at mybrainanimal.com. You get the book anywhere that books are sold.

Starting point is 00:53:39 Limitlessbook.com is probably the easiest place. We have links, you know, and it's around the world. And then, um, yeah, just connect on social media. I would love for everybody to maybe take a snapshot of wherever they're consuming this right now. And tag Ryan, tag myself, so we get to see it and share one thing you're going to do for a better brain. You know, because I think like when you share it, you get to learn it twice. It's called the explanation effect. When you learn something with the attention of teaching somebody else, you're going to learn it so much better. So if you post like the one nugget that you got out of this to your fans, your followers,

Starting point is 00:54:13 your family, your friends, then you get to be able to learn, earn, and return, you know, because I feel like that's what we're due, like how to become limitless in a limited world. We do it together. So I encourage everyone to post it and share like the one nugget, one action you're going to take, you know, after this conversation. And we'll gift out a few copies randomly of Limitless, you know, to your community,

Starting point is 00:54:34 that people who do post that, just as a thank you for grabbing us on the show. Great. Jim, I really appreciate you coming on. And we'll have all of that information in the show notes. You know where to find us, folks. Ryanisright.com. We'll have the show notes, the links to these things, and let's go find out what animal you are, baby. You got to know how you got to, how you learn when you learn how, when you know how you learn, you can apply that to how you learn and grow with others.

Starting point is 00:55:00 Thank you so much, Jim. Thanks buddy. We'll see you guys next time on Right About Now. This has been Right About Now with Ryan Alford, a Radcast Network production. Visit ryanisright.com for full audio and video versions of the show or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for listening.

Right About Now with Ryan Alford - Supercharged Success Strategy from Jim Kwik

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