How To UNLEASH Your Super Brain To NEVER BE LAZY Again! | Jim Kwik & Jay Shetty

And so I remember at the age of nine, a. teacher pointing to me, talking to. another adult saying, "That's the boy. with the broken brain." Parents have to. be very careful with the words they use. because your external words become a. child's internal words. But your journey. actually started off differently, right? You actually struggled at school. I did. When people see me on stages that we've. shared together or on video, they'll see. me do these mental feats, right? Memorize all the 100 people stand up and. memorize their names or you know, 100. names or 100 numbers or 100 words. forwards and backwards, but I always.

tell people I don't do this to impress. you. I do this more to express to you. what's possible. because the truth is every single person. who's listening today could do that and. so much so much more. I mean, we. discover more about, you know, the human. brain, you know this, more in the past. 10 years than the previous thousand. years combined. And we're grossly, we. found that we're grossly underestimating. our own capabilities and our own. superpowers as as you were. And I I. really do I I love your work because I. feel like in this age of information, we're drowning in data. We're drowning. in information, but we're starving for.

real wisdom. And so that's why I really. appreciate it. But yeah, as you know, I. grew up with learning difficulties. Some. people are surprised to to hear at the. age of five I had a bad accident, head. trauma, brain injury, and I had these. learning challenges if you were. You. know, I had bad focus. I had no memory. to speak of. I didn't Teachers would. have to repeat themselves four, five, six times and then I would I wouldn't. get it. I would pretend to understand. and I I don't know if anyone can relate. to that. Um but I had this like imposter. syndrome when I was a child. And um and.

I took me actually a few years to just. learn how to read. I remember I I don't. talk about this, but in school, in. elementary school, all my friends, they. they got invited to be part of this MASP. program cuz I always played with all the. the Dungeons and Dragons and comic book. geeks. And the only difference with them. and me is I didn't have the grades. They're really really smart, right? And. um. but they there was this group called. MASP and MASP stands for More Able. Student Program. And uh it was me and my. friend Joey, we weren't invited in this.

program, so we created our own little. group, our own clique, and we called it. LASP, and we were the less able student. program. And um and so I remember at the. age of nine, a teacher pointing to me, talking to another adult, saying, "That's the boy with the broken brain.". And that was my label, and. and anyone who has a child, or anyone. who's who was a child at one point in. their life, uh parents have to be very. careful with the words they use, because. your external a child's internal words, and that became my internal talk. Every. time I wasn't picked for the soccer.

team, every time I did badly on a quiz. and a test, which was all the time, I. always said, "It's all because I have. the broken brain." And that became my my. internal conversation. And um I always. tell people, "If you fight for your. limitations, you get to keep them." If. you argue for those limits, they're. yours. And I And I had that all through. school. I had it such a bad fear of I. was painfully shy, not just introverted, but shy, because when you um when you feel like. you're broken, you don't have feel like. you have not anything to add in terms of. values. Uh I was I didn't have a lot of. friends. I I would just watch people and.

study them and just wonder, "Why was. this person, you know, so successful at. school, or have, you know, so popular, or picked for all these teams?" And um I. was just painfully shy. I would actually. I remember I don't talk about this a. lot, but I I. my um they pulled my parents in my. English class in high school, and I was. failing. And it He was like the teacher. said, "Okay, I'll give you one chance. You do this extra credit report." And um. you know, and it was on Einstein and Da. Vinci. And you know, and I didn't know.

anything about them, but this is what's. going to allow you to pass. And I was so. excited because I put all my energy in. there for months, and I did this book. report, and it And I've never put all of. my talent and time and focus into one. project before. And uh the day I had to turn it in, I. had it professionally bound. I mean, it. was like so proud of it, cuz I'd never. been good at anything. And um. And at the end of class the teacher is. like I have a surprise for everybody Jim. come up in front of the class and tell. everyone about Einstein and DaVinci and.

I I was so scared I didn't realize I had. to give a talk like a book report on. this. So. I I said I lied I said I didn't do it. And after 3 months of pouring my heart. and everything into it my potential if. you will. I just I lied I said I didn't do it cuz. I was so fearful of keep getting in. front of a group of people I know fear. of public speaking is a big deal for a. lot of people and after you could look. at the teacher's face she was so. disappointed. And I was disappointed in. myself also and but after the class left.

I remember taking it out of my backpack. and throwing it into the trash and I. felt like when I did that I was also. throwing away something else like maybe. my my dreams if you will. But at the age. of 18 I I thought I could turn it all. around I was lucky enough to get into. college university I wanted to make a. fresh start show my family show the. world show myself I could do it and I. did worse and um. and at the time I just I just doubled. down and and I was just ready to quit. and then friends like hey why don't you.

get some perspective before you tell. your family you're quitting school come. visit my my family this weekend I'm. going home and I did and the family was. pretty well off and and happy and. successful if you will. And the father. walks me around his property and says. Jim you know how's school and I just. that's the worst question you could ask. me and I just start balling and I just I. was like I tell my whole story about the. broken brain so I tell Jim why are you. in school? What do you want to be? What. do you want to do? What do you want to. have? What do you want to share in the. world? And and I I just I didn't have any clue.

cuz it's funny when you don't ask. yourself that question you don't have. answers you know that wasn't. conversations that I had growing up. And. I. and I and I go to answer him and he. takes out he says stop he takes out a. piece of paper out of his back pocket. and makes me write it down and you know. how important it is to write and reflect. I never did that before but when I was. done, I had this bucket list of all the. things that I want to accomplish. And. when I was done, I started folding the. sheets and he grabbed out of my hand. He. started reading it and I'm freaking out. cuz I wasn't expecting him to look at my. deepest dreams. And when he's done, he's like, "Jim,

you're this close to everything on that. list." and he spreads his fingers about. a foot apart. And I was like, "No way. Give me 10 lifetimes, I'm not going to. crack that list." And he takes his. fingers and he puts them to the side of. my head. Meaning what's in between is. really the answer, the key, the bridge, if you will, which was my brain. And he. walks me to a room of his home and to a. room I've never seen. You would love it. It's wall to wall, ceiling to floor. covered in books. And I'm phobic of. books, right? I mean, I'm just not a. good reader, never finished a book in my. life. I bet you didn't. Yeah. And this. is like I mean, now I I read I read a. book a day. And I'm so They're my best.

friends. But, um but they're like, you know, a. lot of people are afraid of snakes. It's. like being in a room full of snakes. But, what makes it worse, he starts. grabbing snakes and handing them to me. I start looking at these titles and. they're classics. There's these. incredible biographies of men and women. in history and some very early personal. growth books. Like Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking, Dale. Carnegie, I mean, Napoleon Hill, all the. classics, right? He's like, "Jim, I want. you to read one book a week." And I was. like, "No way. I don't know I'm fighting. for my limitations. I can't do that. I. have so much schoolwork." And he's. looking at me like, "Jim, don't let.

school get in the way of your. education." And I didn't realize this. was a Mark Twain quote at the time. It's. like over 25 years ago. And I was like, "That's really insightful, but I still I. can't commit to this. If I'm going to. commit to it, I'm going to do it." And. very smart man, he reaches into his. pocket and he still has my bucket list. And he starts reading every single one. of my dreams out loud. And I don't know. what it was, Jay, just hearing Imagine. you're this insecure 18-year-old kid and. you start hearing your deepest dreams if. you never articulated out loud yourself, much less you hear it from another man's.

voice incanted out into the universe. And it messed with my mind and my heart. something fierce. And honestly, a lot of. the half that list were things I wanted. to do for my family. You know, my parents immigrated here. from Asia. We I mean, typical story. We. lived in the back of a laundry mat, didn't speak the language, didn't have. any money, education, any of that. And I. just I wanted to do stuff for my my. family that they because of all their. sacrifice. And with that leverage and and. understanding the importance of of of. drive and motivation to get to do I'm.

very curious what motivates people to do. things. You know, to take I don't. believe knowledge is power at all. You. know, I you know, all the. it's potential has a potential be power, right? You know, but all the podcasts, online programs, coaching, seminars, none of it works unless we work it. And. and so. with that motivation, I agreed to read. one book a week. So, fast forward, I'm. back at school and I'm sitting at my. desk. I have a pile of books I have to. read for midterms and I have a pile of. books that I promised to read. And I.

couldn't even do one pile of books. So, what do I do? I sacrifice. I don't eat, I don't sleep, I don't work out, I don't. spend time with friends. I don't I live. in the library. And I just not very. sustainable and I end up passing out one. night out of sheer exhaustion. I fall. down a flight of stairs in the library, hit my head again. And then I wake up 2 days later in the. hospital. And at this point, I've lost. all. I was I lost I went down to 117 lbs. The. scariest point in my life ever. I. thought I died. And you know, when you. have a near-death experience,

I mean, it makes you think about like. deep about who you are and you know, I. think a lot of people have, you know, honestly, near-life experiences where. they're not they're not, you know, stepping into that place. But um made me. ask a new question, you know, why am I. here? Why am I struggling like this? And. I didn't have any answers. Just like, man, I have a really slow brain. And. then at that time, you know, the nurse came in with a mug. of tea and it had a picture of the same. one the person I did the book report on, it's Albert Einstein. And it was like he. and there was a quote on there. I felt.

like he was speaking to me. It said, "The same level of thinking that's. created your problem won't solve your. problem." And I was like, well, what's. my problem? I was like, I'm a very slow. learner. I'm a very slow brain. He was. like, well, how do I think differently. about it? Well, maybe I can learn how to. learn faster. Maybe I can learn how to. have a faster brain. And I put my. studies aside and I just start studying. learning. You know, learning how to. learn. I think it's a superpower. If. there's one skill to master in the 21st. century, you know, with all this change. that's going on, rapid change, it's the. only constant is just how do you learn.

it and absorb it and think differently. and apply it. And so I started studying. neuroscience and adult learning theory, multiple intelligences, um anything I can get my hands on, mnemonics, speed reading, everything. And then about 60 days into it, a light. switch went on and I started to. understand things for the very first. time. I mean, it was just like And I. remember, I never talk about this, but I. I remember the time, the moment it. happened. It was um we were in class. It. was about 300 people in a lecture. center. And back then, there were these. um these overhead projectors, right? And. with these, you know, and it's like with.

these with these like with these pulling. like and um and then and then the. professor put something on the overhead. projector and, you know, a few seconds. into it, I just start laughing. And I'm. so quiet. I'm the quiet one in class. I. do everything to not Like if I was to. have one superpower back in school, it. was. invisibility. Like I didn't want to be. seen. I didn't I mean, I wanted to be. seen. I wanted to be heard, but I didn't. want the spotlight. And um and so, because, you know, when you're broken. and you feel like you're not enough, you. don't want that attention. But I start.

laughing out loud, really loud, and. everyone turns around and looks at me. And I'm freaking out. Like, oh my. goodness, like cuz I didn't realize it. And then about 30 seconds into it, other. people started laughing. There was this. ripple effect, and we were laughing at. what was on the screen, but I had just. read it and learned it really fast, right at that moment. And I didn't. realize it at the time. Um but with my. grades, when my grades improved, my life. improved. And here's the thing, when my. inspiration really was my desperation. You know, how I ended up on this path. all those years ago was I couldn't help.

but help other people, right? You talk. about your passion, and my passion. became learning, but my purpose also. became teaching, you know, sharing with. other people because I felt really. upset that I wasn't taught this back in. school, and I had to go through all that. suffering and struggling every single. day, you know, sometimes crying myself. to sleep, not feeling I was enough. And. um so I started helping other. individuals, and um. I don't share this story um very often, but. um I didn't know how to help other.

individuals. So I was like, "Okay, I'm. going to I was walking as I was doing. this meditation around campus," and I. noticed there was this classroom that. wasn't being used late at night on a. Thursday night. And I was like, "Okay, um next week, I'm going to put five or. 10 people in that room, teach them for. free, and then maybe afterwards one or. two of them want to be my students, and. then I could tutor them.". And then um. I go back to my uh dorm room, and I take. out a piece of paper, and I write free. speed reading, memory tips, get better. grades in less time, Thursday 7:00 p.m. And the next morning, this is like my.

first like, you know, uh opportunity to. share this. Next morning, I make some. photocopies, and on the way to class, just put some around the campus, not a. lot. Um and then fast forward to. Thursday 7:00, I go I'm walking around. the hallway, I'm just hoping five people. showed up were interested in this, and I. turn the corner, and there's a crowd of. people outside the door. And I'm. freaking out because I was like, honestly, I was like, "Oh, I hope. whatever's going on ends soon so I can. do my thing.". And uh I go up to there, and and there's.

this crowd of people, and I can't even. see inside cuz there's a big tall guy. I. was like tapping on him, like, "What's. going on inside?" He's like, "There's a. speed reading class." And honest to God, Jay, I was like, "Wow, what a. coincidence.". What What are the odds there's another. speed reading class the same room, the. same night, the same time? And I pushed. my way in, and there's rooms full of. people, people standing in the back, but. nobody's teaching. And it takes my slow. brain all that time to realize why. they're all there, and I do a head. count, and instead of five or 10 people, there's 110 people. Now, keep in mind,

I'm phobic of public speaking, I'm 18. years old. I look, you know, like really. young. I'm wearing t-shirts, shorts. I've nothing prepared to talk about. And. there's teaching assistants in there, graduate students. And um. my heart's beating out of my chest. I. can't even breathe. And so I leave. Cuz I can't I can't do it. And uh. I will go to this um the fountain and I. have I always meditated in my in my. life. It's just something more my nature. cuz I spent so much time in my. imagination to myself um as as an. introvert. And um and I when I was.

meditating, I heard this voice inside my. head and it's my mom's. And she says, I. won't tell you exactly what she says, but essentially it's like 100 people. came out because you promised to help. them. And you're disappointing them, you're disappointing me. And um. and I'm doing this walking meditation. back to the my dorm room and I stop. And. I take one step back to the classroom. And isn't it interesting that one step. in another direction can completely. change your destination Mhm. or your. destiny, right? Absolutely. And I go back. And honestly, as a memory.

expert, it's embarrassing. I don't even. remember what I talked about. I mean, I. don't know how you are on stage, but. sometimes it just flows just flows. through you, right? Yeah. And uh I. remember, you know, on stage with Wayne. Dyer. He's like, he never preps. He just. Yes. He just prays, you know, prays the. servant. It just comes right through. And but after 2 hours, I come out of. this trance. And I was just like, okay, but I remember what I said then. Consciously, I was like, oh, I don't. know if I can help everybody here, but. it don't take about 10 hours for me to. teach you some of the things that I'm. doing 2 hours a week, you know, um you. know, over the next 5 weeks. And I'm.

just said, oh, you know, I get $30 an. hour to to teach this cuz that's what I. got um teaching tennis back in, you. know, high school. If you're interested, I'll be in the student center tomorrow. at noon. And then I I swear to you, Jay, 100 people just get up and they leave. And didn't know no interaction at all. And I am I feel two things. Number one, I feel completely confused. I'm just. like, what happened? Did everyone just. not Did I just What did I say while this. was going on. and did I just was I complete idiot and. then the other feeling I had was. complete exhaustion because you know. when you get yourself to do something.

you never thought you could do like you. know whether it's public speaking or or. talking to that person that you're. always you know attracted to or starting. that business or jumping out of that. plane or whatever I was completely. exhausted mentally emotionally. physically and I end up falling asleep. on the floor on that carpet it was it. was the best sleep of my life I've ever. had to this day and I get woken up by. the class coming in the next morning. and I mean scary you're like drooling on. yourself looking up and seeing like you. know class students and I run back to my.

dorm room and I shower I go to breakfast. go to class 12:00 comes I promised to. people I'd be in the student center I. run there I just hope one person is. there and when I get there the entire. that crowd is this is there showed up. and. at the end of in about an hour or two. 71 of the 100 kids signed up for a. program that didn't even exist. and it was at a price point of a $300. because I didn't even do the math. because I wasn't doing it for the money. it was like 100 you know 71 times $300.

because I didn't realize kids could go. to the ATM machine and take out $300. because I didn't I didn't have an ATM. card I didn't have that guy never saw. $300 in my life and so I so now I'm not. even 19 years old and I have $21,000. cash in my backpack and and I go back to. my mentor. his wisdom saying don't let school get. in the way of your education and I feed. my body because I lost all that weight. but mostly I use that to invest in. feeding my mind and I buy every book. every audio cassette at that time.

there's no. everything was it wasn't digital I. traveled the world to learn my craft and. the reason why I do this today. is because one of those students 71. young adults she was a freshman she read. 30 books in 30 days. I mean can you imagine going online and. picking up 30 books, you know, and and. just absorbing, not skim it, but just. really understood it. And I wanted to. find out not how, but why, going back to. motivation. And I found out that her. mother was dying of terminal cancer.

And was only given to 60 days to live, 2. months to live. Doctors. um. And so I I wish her well, prayers. 6. months later I get a call from this. young lady. She's crying and crying and. crying. I can't get a word out of her. And I find out that her tears of joy. that her mother not only survived, but. is really getting better. Doctors don't. know how or why. They called it a. miracle. But her mother attributed 100%. to the great advice she got from her. daughter, who learned it from all these. books. And that's where I realized at. that moment if knowledge is power, learning is your superpower. It's a.

superpower we all have inside of us. And. I devoted my life to showing people how. to unlock and unleash it. Wow. Um so I get I I get a little choked. up thinking about about that. But that. that's my mission, the boy with the. broken brain. I just want to no brain. left behind. Yeah. Yeah, I want to show. I want to show people really what. they're capable of and then they that we. all have genius inside of us. That it's. not how smart you are, it's really how. are you smart. Mhm. And um and we've had. this conversation, you know, with. And that's what I feel like people are.

looking for that. Yeah. I love that, man. That's Yeah, listening. to it. in full like that, and I'm sure there's. so much more, but thank you for so much. for sharing those stories as well. They're really powerful and the the. genuineness and sincerity with which. you're doing this just comes across. really naturally. I can feel the energy. It's not even a. And I already knew that about you, but. it's not about anything else apart from. no brain left behind. I love that. But yeah, let's let's look at that a bit.

more and I and I want to unpack parts of. that story because I think that a lot of. people are listening right now or. watching right now. and they're saying. Jim, I feel exactly how you felt. Yeah. Right? I was the same. I never. felt I liked reading growing up because. we only read fiction books at school. Right. I've never been a fan of certain types. of fiction that we were exposed to at. school. Okay. And when I got exposed to. non-fiction when I was 14, I got. fascinated with reading and I just kept. reading and reading and reading. Because.

I loved reading about real people and. real stories. And at the same time, I've. been fascinated by superheroes or magic, but we never read books like that, fiction books like that at school. Right, right. So, I also had challenges with what I. loved and what I didn't love and what I. believed. So, our biggest challenge is, you know this, I know this, are around. our beliefs, are around what we believe. is possible. Right. You had a eight from eight years old to. 18, that seems like a really tough time in. your life in terms of your projections.

of yourself, your beliefs about. yourself. What is your advice now to people who. have those limiting beliefs? How do they. start that journey or that process. Yeah. of opening up their minds or. whatever you feel is right for them? I I. really do feel this is one of the most. important conversations people could be. having right now. Mhm. because to create any kind of. results in our life, we need to behave a. certain way. But in order to do a behavior, we need a. belief that enables that to happen. And. um I think the nature of a lot of the.

work that that we do is is about. transcending. Is uh when I say we, I mean everyone. who's here in this community, it's about. transcend, it's about ending the trance. Ending this mass hypnosis through. marketing, through media that says that. you're broken, you know, exactly what I. experienced as a child, that you need to. be that you need to be fixed, that there. is something wrong with you. And I feel. like, you know, a lot of this fear of not. feeling like you're enough is is is at.

the root of a lot of challenges because. in in in actuality, we're not so much a. a thermometer. reacting to the environment all the time. as we are thermostat and our beliefs are. kind of like the temperature we're. setting. And when we set a goal or or a. belief or a vision for something, you. know, the environment changes, but I. think people make them kind of money. that they believe that they are worth. That they are in the kind of. relationship or lack thereof. Maybe. because of of what they believe about,

you know, relationships or they believe. about who they are and how valuable that. they they are or maybe even the state of. health, right? That the power of a. belief or placebo that people could. change the level of health just by. having a certain a thought. And um and we know that there's a. biology to belief also as well. And so. what I I know in in my experience of. having students in over 180 countries, working with children with the most. severe learning challenges to adults, you know, I don't I know I never talk. about this. My My grandmother died of.

Alzheimer's. You know, and so that affects your. beliefs when you're a child along with. my brain injury, labeled a broken brain. I remember going to see my grandmother. and she would call me by the you know, my by my brother's name. You know, I. would remember talk to my grandmother. about something and then 2 minutes later. we're talking about the same exact thing. and people who know, you know, who have. had this experience and who doesn't know. somebody who had, you know, who has been. affected by dementia or Alzheimer's, you just it's like you lose your mind, you lose part of, you know, who you are,

your identity. And so all those things affect your. belief about what is possible. So the. reason why I do these demonstrations on. stage is to really shake up what people. feel is possible. But I know and this is. what research shows that regardless of. your age, your background, your career, your education, your financial. situation, your gender, your history, your IQ, only about a 1/3 according to the. research is pre- your intellect, your. potential, your memory is predetermined. by genetics and biology, but 2/3 is in. your control. Now some people will say.

100% is in your control, you know, epigenetics and your beliefs and the. power of it, but I research, you know, traditionally speaking, 2/3 is you have. more influence than you think. Mhm. That. it's not 2/3 is good enough. Exactly. That it's not it's not it's you know, the the whole mindset between a fixed. mindset and a growth mindset is that um. that it's not set. Like your IQ, when. you take an IQ test when you're a child, it's not what you're set for life. It's. not fixed like your shoe size. And um. plus, you know, the beliefs around IQ, people feel like that that a. standardized test could This is your.

potential. I mean, that's ludicrous, right? That that something like that is. set. And so, I think when we're talking. about beliefs, all of it is has to do. with our our culture and what our. influences what we're imprinted on early. on. And I also believe part of it has to do. with our self-talk. I remember I was. preparing to. to run a marathon, you know, with a name. like Quick. And people talk about my. name. I I didn't change my name to do. what I do. It's my father's name, my. grandfather's name. That's so cool. You know, and so it's um.

it's something that I was born with and. and I would say that. um when I was running this marathon, I. read this chapter in a book on the. psychology of it and it said this word. for word cuz I'm a memory expert. It. said, "Your brain is like a. supercomputer and your self-talk is a. program it will run. So, if you tell. yourself you're not good at remembering. names, you will not remember the name of. the next person you meet because you. program your supercomputer not to.". And um you know, I always tell people. your mind is always eavesdropping on. your self-talk. It's always listening.

You know this. If If people knew how. powerful their minds were, like right. now when people are listening to this, you have hundreds of millions of neurons. firing off, you know, and they say a. person's mind once stretched by new idea. never regains its original dimensions, right? Neurogenesis, neuroplasticity, we're always, you know, thoughts that. you know, um brain cells that wire. together, they they they they fire. together, they wire together. These. thoughts are things. And so, I would. say, if you knew how powerful your minds. really were, you wouldn't have a thought.

or say something you didn't want to be. true. And now, that's not to say you. have one negative thought and it ruins. your life, right? Anymore than eating a. donut ruins your life, you know, like. you know, your body. But, it's the habit. of doing it, right? We talk about habits. like meditation and working out and. eating right and gratitude. But, you. know, what about the habits of our. feelings? The emotional habits that we. have. What about the habits of our. thoughts that were the the things we're. saying to ourselves all the time inside. Like, I have a friend, like, you know, I. feel like we ask these things all the. time. We have these thoughts that we.

have to be conscious of in order to. change. But, um and we have certain. thoughts that are just constant. Like, um like like these dominant ones. And I. remember. when a friend of mine we went through. this exercise and her primary thought. is, "How do I get people to like me?". Wow. Like, can you imagine if you ask. yourself hundreds of times a day, consciously or unconsciously, "How do I. get people to like me?" Like, Jay, you. don't know this person. You don't know. her age, her background, her her career, any her her financial You don't know. anything about her, but you know. everything about her.

Mhm. Right? If somebody's asking. themselves constantly like themselves, you know, "How do I get people to like. me?" You I mean, what's that person. like? Like, what's their personality. like? You know, they're always they're. people pleaser, you know, their. personality is changing depending on who. they're spending time with. They're a. martyr. They're always looking to serve. and they're and and you know all that. stuff because you know one of their. thoughts, because thoughts are things. And so, I would ask people to evaluate, you know, your beliefs, your self-talk. because it it runs these programs. And. it's so once you're conscious of it, you. can make changes. Like, you know, I.

don't have a great memory yet. You know, simple a simple three-letter word at the. end of a sentence changes everything cuz. words have power. You know, um there's. even this little pet peeve I have is. that, you know, people talk about nice. and they talk about kind, but those are. two completely different things, like. night and day, you know, in terms of. what motivates. Somebody who's nice a. a person who's nice could treat with. somebody who's going through a bad day. or a homeless person, they could treat. them nice. But somebody who's kind is. different. They invest their their time,

there's caring, there's work. You know, a nice person does things when they have. the time, a kind person does they they. make the time to do things, right? A. nice person is more It's a beautiful. distinction. externally motivated, meaning somebody. who's nice usually sometimes they. placate, they don't want to create. waves, they don't want to upset anybody. Um because they don't want to look bad. Um and but somebody who's kind they're. more internally motivated and they they. they they do what's right because out of. caring and compassion. Because you know,

a nice person might not recognize the. the the broccoli in your teeth because. they would they don't want to create. anything. But but a a kind person be. like, "Hey, you got something there." Or. they'll call you on your stuff and. they'll tell you what you need to hear. because they'll speak the truth because. they're not trying to get validation. You know. That's that's a beautiful. like little distinctions in words, even. things like, you know, people say all. the time, "I got to pick up the kids. I. I got to journal today. I got to. meditate." But you change that word got. to get, "Oh my goodness, I I get to pick. up my kids. I get to work out today. I.

get to eat right. I get to meditate.". So, you know, those those words affect. how we think and they affect our core. beliefs. And so I would say one of the. fundamental places to changing those. that belief is to really be conscious of. your your thoughts, especially those. automatic they call them ants, automatic. negative thoughts, right? You want to. want to be able to squash those ants cuz. it's definitely good for your brain. I. love that. Yeah, I know and and I. couldn't agree with you more. I couldn't agree with you more. It's. it's it's incredible how simple it.

sounds and seems. even though it has such a profound. effect on us. Right? Like it has such a. profound effect. Like changing adding. that three-letter word yet. Right. Right? Just that small thing can have. such a huge impact. But we need to give. this attention in our lives because. otherwise that negative self-talk has. been playing for so long. that it could just keep going on in the. background. Right, and we don't even. know where it came from, you know, even. when when when we're children. So, we're. not and I feel like that in order to be.

able to make any kind of change, you. have to recognize what it is. Otherwise, then we're at the effect of it. Then. then we're going back to being a a. thermometer, if you were. And that would. that would be the big challenge, but. then then you would call it fate when. it's really, you know, you begin this. awareness having those distinctions. Absolutely. And we have to think about. what we also want to invest in learning, too. Of course. Because I feel like the pressure of I. remember that you've just made me think. of this when you were talking about your. school experience. Every year in my high. school, so secondary school we call it.

secondary school, you call it high. school, we used to get. ranked for every subject out of 180. students. And it would be put up in. front of everyone. Mhm. So, you'd be ranked against. everyone in your peer group out of 180. in every single subject in school. So, math, English, biology, chemistry, physics, art, design, English, history, geography, politics, whatever it was. And then you'd be able to see where you. were. And I remember there were certain. subjects like philosophy, art and.

design, economics where I would always. perform well. I I'd always probably be. in the top five, three, and one more. often than not in those subjects. And. then subjects like math and English, I. was always pretty high up. But things. like math and geography, I was always. kind of in the middle maybe towards the. the latter half. And. and it's interesting how that we amplify. that which we're not good at. That's. interesting. Right? We amplify It's like. saying, for example, you give me the. broccoli example, but imagine you dress. up to go out to an event. Right.

Everyone at the event was just like, "Oh, Jim, I love your shoes. I love that. T-shirt. I love the slogan." And then. you get one person who comes up to you. and says, "Jim, that slogan makes no. sense." And we go home amplifying that. one person who said that makes no sense. Why does that happen and how do we stop. that happening? Like how do we stop the. mind from doing that? Because I actually. think more people receive compliments, they receive encouragement, they're. receiving support, but actually our mind. tricks us into amplifying and magnifying.

Yeah. the one negative piece. It's like. in your comments, I'm sure you see it. When you're scrolling through your. comments, your mind naturally goes to. the the critical one. Right, right. see so many social media so many. influencers, so many models, actors, actresses who get consumed by the. negative comments on their feeds. Yeah. So how do we stop that from happening? Yeah, I'm really concerned about this. digital age. I feel like it serves and. enabled I love knowing what you're up to. and it's great for staying up to date. with with friends and family and.

learning and inspiration and I love. that. And you know, we talk about. superheroes and superpowers, but they're. also. there could be like the super villain in. that this digital age we have digital. overload, too much learn too little. time, we have digital distraction. I. mean goodness. I mean when we pick up. our phone every dopamine fix from every. like, share, comment, everything. And. then you have digital dementia relying. on your phone and you just does. everything for you so you don't have to. use your your mental faculties as much. So you know, we're so dependent on that.

But then there's this digital depression. that's coming from comparison. Right, you see sometimes we see all the good. stuff and we focus on the bad or you see. every that highlight curated, filtered. life of everyone's incredible life and. know that you know, you don't see the. struggle sometimes as much and that's. why I could appreciate your work because. it brings it's it's it's it's full and. it's it's rich. Um. full spectrum and I think that one of. the challenges is part of your brain. through survival you have this reticular. activating system that cuz right now.

there's 2 billion stimuli we could be. focusing on. I mean you would go go. raving mad if if you did, right? That's. a lot of information, the noise, if you. will. So, we can only pay attention to a. small bite of information. You know, out. of Harvard, George Miller says it's 7. plus or minus 2, you know, 5 to 9 bits. you could consciously be aware. And so, what do we become aware of? And well, you're right, a lot of that stuff is the. the the criticisms. It's the it's the. people it's the negative stuff that you. know, you want to protect yourself from. because you it's feeding that fear that.

we're not we're not enough. Mhm. Right? And then you start asking those kind of. questions cuz you can delete. So, primarily your brain, people don't. realize, is a deletion device. It's. trying to get keep things out. Right? So, it deletes, it distorts, and it it. generalizes. And all of a sudden, you. see one bad comment out of a flood of. maybe 100 people are rooting for you. And then you obsess about that one. thing, and then you generalize like. that's the real thing. And it's kind of. interesting when it comes to your. happiness because I feel like people who. are generally happy will focus, you.

know, on on the glass half full. As. opposed cuz at any moment there are. negative We could always be sad and. depressed and not feel good enough cuz. there's plenty of stuff to focus on. You. know, but just also right now there you. know, people getting married. There. people having, you know, babies. There. people who are learning new things and. starting new careers. So, it really is a. matter of focus. And I and I think, you. know, I I did this podcast episode where. I was in the power plant. And I tell. this story about a power plant that's. very active. And one day it just shuts. down. In the middle of nowhere, just.

shuts down. And the employees are. running around. They're they're frantic. with their heads cut off. And finally, operations manager after 3 hours says, "Okay, well, we got to get some outside. help." They call local technician. Technician's like, "You're lucky. I'm. right around the corner." Technician. shows up, and he's he surveys the power. plant for about a few minutes. He And. there's full of beams everywhere. He. goes to one specific beam, and on there. there's all these electrical boxes. He. goes to one specific electrical box. He. puts a big X with a magic marker on it. He opens it up, and there are all these. bolts and wires and screws. He goes to.

one specific screw, and he turns it not. a quarter of an inch and all of a sudden. the whole power plant lights up again. And the operations manager like, "Thank. you. You saved our business. You saved. the day. How much do I owe you?" He's. like, "That will be $10,000.". And he's like, "What? You were here for. 5 minutes. All you did was turn a. screw." He's like, "You know, how can. you even justify that? Just like, give. me an itemized bill." He's like, "No. problem." Technician reaches in his back. pocket, takes out a piece of paper, scribbles on it, tears off the sheet, gives it to him and he's like, "Oh, I. understand." And he goes to his desk,

writes a check for $10,000, hands it to. the man. And he basically and you look. at the the the invoice, if you will, and. it says, "Turning screw, $1. Knowing. what screw to turn, $9,999.". And And the lesson is for people who are. listening is not that you have a screw. loose, is that little things can make a big. difference, right? It's like that It's a. what I call it a focal point or a force. multiplier, you know, where it's same. amount of input, multiple output or the.

lead domino, if you will, that could hit. a lot of dominoes. And the same thing. applies to our our our focus and our. thoughts. And I would say at the core. level, people are trying to change their. behavior at all times, right? They want. to change, they want to stop smoking, they want to meditate, they want to go. for walks or do something with their. kids, but you struggle and and willpower. only goes so far, right? But above that. level is this level of capability, you. know, and that's why, you know, people. like you say, doing the deep work. Mhm. Cuz people avoid the deep work, but if. you don't want to do that, you know, if.

you procrastinate, put things off and. you just do the easy things, life is. hard. We know that. But if you do the. hard things, life becomes easier, right? So, the capability. So, check do you. have the the skill set on how to be able. to do that behavior of stop smoking or. meditation and such. Because there's a. there's a competence-confidence loop. that the more competent you get, capable, the more confident you get. Totally. And then you're more likely to do it and. get better. So, it's positive momentum. But the level above that is the. conversation we've been having about. beliefs and values. Because maybe.

somebody wants the behavior of of let's. say. um meditating every single day. And. maybe they even were were were trained, right, up to do it in capabilities, but. the belief is, you know, I can't quiet. my mind. Or maybe the they the value is. they don't value being still and silent. with themselves or being present with. themselves. Or maybe the behavior is. they want to remember names better, right? But then they maybe and they went. through one of our podcasts or something. and they got the capability, but the. belief is I have a horrible memory.

Right? Or the value is I don't really. care about people. You know, and so that. that's going to affect the behavior, but. people are trying to force it and try to. remember names when they should be. addressing a different level. But the. level above beliefs and values is this. level of identity. And you know, you've. addressed this before. It's like the two. most powerful words in the English. language, the shortest words, I am. Because whatever you put after that is. you know, if somebody they say their. behavior is they want to stop smoking, but they, you know, and maybe they have. the capabilities to do it. They even.

have beliefs or values around health, but their identity is I am a smoker. That's going to be a hard change to. make. Or maybe they want to stop. procrastinating, but their identity is I. am a procrastinator. You know, that. could be a big challenge for a lot of. people. And the last level I would say. below behaviors is this level of. environment. And the environment really. is like let's say somebody has the. behavior of they want to, you know, do. something like meditate, but their. environment doesn't allow them to have. time for themselves or maybe they want. to um read 30 minutes a day, but their.

environment doesn't have, you know, it's. too dark or whatever. Now, the big thing. going back to pull this all full circle. is the power of beliefs. We talked about. the power of questions cuz your. questions determine what you're focusing. on. Your particular activating system, what do you focus on is most real. Now, in school you learn there are six major. core questions, right? Five W's and the. H. So, look at this again There's these. levels of transformation. Identity. answers the question of who. Right? Beliefs and values answers the. question of why. Capabilities answers the question of.

how. Behavior answers the question of. what. And the environment answers the. question of when and and where. So, when. you're looking to make complete change, whether it's getting people to read. three times faster, remember names, be. able to learn another language, be able. to meditate, be able to, you know, do. any kind of change, start that business. You want to make sure all those levels. align, then you have alignment here. Mhm. You know, mind, body, and uh. and life. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's. that alignment that point you just made.

at the end there is unbelievable because. I couldn't agree with you more. Just. looking back, it's funny when you study. something in school and we just take it. as like, ah, you know. Right. cute and fun, but when you actually. break it down like you just explained. it, and I recommend everyone who is. listening go listen back to that what. what Jim just said. Because. I think it was Gandhi who said that when. what you think, what you say, and what. you do are aligned, then you experience. harmony in life. Yeah, and you're not. And I love that word harmony because a.

lot of people they talk about about. balance. And it's going back to like and. kind, you know, somebody who's nice and. kind. There's a difference between. balance and harmony. Like so many people. I say, I want a balanced life. But. balance, when you look up the. definition, it's balance is like an. equality, like an equal amount of time. and effort. Like I want But I don't want. to spend the same amount of time at work. as I do working out, with the kids, and. everything. So, you don't want to. equality there in of of time, but you. want harmony, like a. like an orchestra, right? Like you have.

not every single instrument or person is. has equal amount of time, but they come. together and they create this incredible. symphony. And I feel like we could do. that with our with our life also as. well. And I think that exactly is what you. just said. What This everything we're. talking about has just been brought back. full circle because our mindset about. our life is I need everything to be. balanced. I need to fit this in. Like. the language around I need to fit. something in. Right. Or I need to make. time for this. Right? And it's it puts.

pressure, artificial pressure, and then. it feels like we can't balance. Balance. kind of feels like you're juggling. Right. That is spinning lots of plates or. something. Yeah, yeah, spinning lots of plates. That doesn't feel like a great. visualization for the mind or a mindset. And then what you've just said that. actually shifting balance to harmony. Right. And you start thinking about it like an. orchestra. Right. It's like, oh, wow. And then Hey, so, you know, the the. string quartet is playing for that long, percussion comes in then, etc., etc. And it and it all all of a sudden even.

the visualization of that. just just calms the heartbeat right. down. You know, I I do an annual. QuickBrain event and we had in our. audience Quincy Jones. We actually had. Quincy Jones, Don Miguel Ruiz from, you. know, wrote The Four Agreements. I mean, the founder of the Four Agreements. Like. they're all sitting like and I just like. Quincy comes up and he's 85 years old. and I was like, "Tell me about everyone. talks about successes, We Are the World, everything. I want to I want What are. your biggest struggles? What are the. problems you went through and you had to. overcome?" He's like, "Jim, I don't have. any problems." I'm like, "What?" Like I.

mean, everybody has problems. I mean, if. you don't have any problems, you're. pretty you're 6 ft under, right? Yeah. He's like, "No, I don't have any. problems. I have puzzles." Another. change in word and languaging and all of. a sudden, you know, for me a puzzle is. like fun, you know? Puzzle has a has a. solution to it. Something is something. that I could take on. So, that. languaging plays a big role. Even when. people are going back to that levels of. transformation using words, people say, "I am I am busy." You have I mean, this. is such a pet peeve of mine, just like. nice and kindness, is people say, "Oh,

you know, how's it going?" "Oh, I'm just. so busy." And it's like they get this. secondary gain of you know, significance, you know, cuz the meta. level message you're sending somebody. when you're busy saying you're busy is. like, "Oh, I'm really important and. successful." And for me, like you people. will have this badge of honor saying. they're busy all the time. And then they. wonder, you know, they design their. whole life around being busy, and they. wonder why they're stressed all the. time, that they have anxiety, they're. not getting any sleep. But we're. constantly programming it with our. thoughts all the time.

What's your switch for busy valuable, too? Do you have one? What do you What do you. What do you use? Mine's productive. I like that. I like. that. productive. So when someone says, "How's. your week been?" I'm like, "It's been. productive." Because when I say. productive, Yeah. I feel empowered. I feel I've been. effective. And with what we teach, you know, people. I don't share this publicly, but I um I. have very bad sleep apnea. Mhm. And so. besides my learning challenges, so my. two biggest challenges growing up as a. kid were learning and public speaking. And the universe has a sense of humor. because what I do every day is public. speak on learning. But of recent um.

I've been struggling with sleep apnea. And usually it's caused by um someone. being overweight because they have this. extra excess um weight around their. neck, so it's hard to breathe. And um. that's not my case. It's uh you know, it's genetic. And I stop breathing 200. times a night. And each time is at least. 10 seconds. So, you know, I went to. UCLA, and they're like, "No wonder." The. doctor's like, "It's like you're not. sleeping. It's like somebody coming in. with a pillow and suffocating you 200. times a night, and you I'm waking up cuz. I can't breathe." And I use a CPAP. device, a dental device. I flew down to.

spend 2 weeks with John of God in. Brazil. I mean, I've done all of this. stuff. You know, but I do believe that. if anyone's watching this or listening. to this right now, um. the question I ask, we're talking about. the power of questions and beliefs, is. that there's a gift in every struggle. And I ask myself, you know, what Where's. the gift in this? You know, people talk. about post-traumatic stress, and I've. had post-traumatic stress. We've all had. loss. We've all had, you know, a lot. loss of loved ones, loss of. relationships, financial issues, health. issues. But I believe that.

post-traumatic stress, what people don't. realize there's also post-traumatic. growth. That some people, and I am sure you. could identify this and a lot of um your. community can also is that you've gone. through adversity and difficulty and is. something you would never wish upon. another soul but those people have come. out on the other side some people will. say I honestly wouldn't change it as. hard as it was going through it. I have a new meaning in my life a new. strength a new clarity a new life. purpose or mission and and that sculpt.

my my soul because. I believe that difficult times they. could diminish you they could define you. or they could develop you. and ultimately we we decide and that's. the that's the power we have that. whether or not you believe you believe. in fate certain things that meant to. happen we also have free will to decide. what to focus on what things mean you. know also as well so with the sleep. apnea my gift from it is I I search it. I'm like what do you know if I'm only. sleeping two hours a night it's not like.

I gained six hours of productivity. you're talking about being productive. but my gift is number one it's forced me. to double down on everything I teach so. I have to be very highly productive so I. so I can read faster and be you know all. the stuff that I teach and learn it's. because I'm at this disadvantage so I. live you know I. we had started this conversation with. the life you live are the lessons you. teach you know and so I can roll out of. bed at 4:00 in the morning and do this. because all I have to do is tell people. what I'm doing because I don't have to. rehearse it because I you know I live it.

I'm like just like yourself or anyone. watching this but the other thing is not. only is it the gift was me learning. these skills and developing the. capability it's forced me to be very. protective of my time you know when. someone's talking about being busy. you know everything in my life is heaven. yes or heaven no like right now there's. nowhere I'd rather be than right here. with you you know what I mean because a. lot of people who are stressed and. overloaded it's self-inflicted because. they are self-opting in saying yes way. too much you know and we've all read.

that book good to great say no to good. so you can say yes to great. But a lot. of people have too many tabs open in. their life. They're saying yes, yes, yes. And a lot of people in this. community also do that because they're. martyrs. They're helping their friends, their family, their loved ones, their. customers, their clients, but they're. not taking care of themselves. And we've. all heard self-love and self-care is not. selfish. That you have to give, you. know, to yourself before you can give to. somebody else. And what I would say to. everyone, maybe this is a wake-up call. saying that if you know, you have. opportunities to rest, you're saying yes. way too much. Is it to take care and say.

no to to things so you can say yes to. yourself. And that's what I've learned. to be able to do, you know, with myself. because I you know, I don't have. infinite energy because of my sleep and. everything that comes from that. And so, you know, through struggles, you know, can lead to strengths. Can. lead to superpowers, for sure. Absolutely. I love that. You've helped. so many thousands of people through your. teaching, lectures, courses online, and. so many influential people. I mean, you've worked with everyone from like. Elon Musk to Will Smith to Quincy Jones.

was at your event, which I didn't know. All of these incredible people you've. helped and help them learn. What have. they taught you in the process? What. have you learned from them? So, I learned something from everyone. You know, with Quincy, um not only was. it um you know, I've I've he is amazing. when people find their passion they use. it for purpose. But one of the things I. learned from him is the power of. perspective. You know, he people don't. realize this, but I when I was um you. know, I we've been to I've. I've celebrated eight of his past 10. birthdays and we talk about things. We.

stay up way late in the night and he. speaks 23 languages, which is extraordinary. You know, so. there's definitely a correlation between. music and languages, you know, that part. of your brain, if you will. But when I'm. talking what I've learned from him is. the power of perspective, meaning he has. this phrase saying you have to go to. know. Meaning he travels all around the. world because he really, you know, I. don't think there would be any kind of. prejudice, you know, with with other. people if people just travel more, you. know, in their mind even if it's from. books or anything because when you're. exposed to culture and language and food.

and different things you learn a deep. appreciation for us. You don't have to. tolerate it. You know, tolerance is one. thing but you can actually appreciate. and acknowledge and be more accepting of. things and notice that the patterns of. how we're all the same also. So, the. power of perspective and you know, even. when I went to my friend's house when I. was, you know, ready to quit school, you. know, that perspective of changing place. and people because when you change. people place you get a different. perspective. So, I encourage anyone. who's struggling right now with a. difficult decision or a different.

situation to step out of it and change. your place meaning just even going for a. walk, you know, helps. But also changing. your people because everyone's heard. that who you spend time with is who you. become. You spend time with nine broke. people, you become the 10th, right? But. there's a. there's a real. neuroscience reason. You have mirror. neurons which is your imitation. cells that are always imitating what. other people are doing. That's why we. can empathize so well when we're. watching a movie. We can feel scared. when the person's going through a scary. moment or you know, sports you can feel.

what they're feeling. But we also when. we imitate though also are those things, their capabilities, their beliefs. We. start imitating their values. That's why. it's better well done than it is well. said for parenting, you know, certainly. It's not people don't and then even in. online I I I think people who are most. successful like yourself is they don't. just say it, they show it. You know, they don't promise it, they prove it. And I feel like that you know, the. things that we do is teaches people more. than anything else especially for. children who don't learn, you know, Maya.

Angelou said, you know, people will. forget what you say, you know, they they. they'll they they'll they'll they'll. they'll literally they'll forget what. you say and they'll they'll forget what. you do but they'll always remember how. you made them feel, you know, through. your example. And so, I've learned that. from Quincy, you know, from Elon and I. actually bonded over sci-fi. Our love of sci-fi books going back to. fiction. A lot of people and I I really. do love. fiction, but we never had that in. school. And so, like, you know, so many people. in our community they read non-fiction. books. I totally appreciate that. If. somebody has decades of experience they.

put into a book and you can sit down in. a couple of days or few days and read. that book. You can download decades in. days. Leaders are readers, completely. But, um, so much research is coming out. saying if people spend more time reading. fiction it helps with imagination, Totally. creativity. By the way, like, everyone's job right now, like, because. where this digital age is going, you. think about AI, artificial intelligence, think about automation. Everything's. being outsourced, right? And you know, it's Asia. So, there's the three A's. Automation, Asia, and and and artificial. intelligence. So, what what where's our.

humanity here? It's what makes us. special. Things that they that computers aren't. going to do. Imagination. Mhm. You. right? Imagination is power. You know, it's Einstein said that. Um, what about. um, creativity, right? Creativity is. like the the future belongs to the. creatives, Yeah. right? And but that's. not taught in school. You know, school. teaches you what to learn, math, history, science, Spanish, and poor. class on what to learn, but no class on. how to learn. They teach you what to. learn and what to think, not how to. learn and how to think. Where are the. classes on imagination, creativity,

listening, you know, concentration, focus, intel you know, all these. different areas. You know, I always. thought, you know, at least remembering. Teach people how to remember what they. learn. You know, reading, writing, arithmetic, the three R's, but what. about recall, retention? You know, Socrates says learning is remembering. Cuz if we lost half of our memories, we. lose like a big part of who we are, you. know? And And the other reason why is. people always students program like. Google and somebody said, like, Jim, why. do I have to remember all this, you. know, I can just search on our search. engine. And this is the truth. If. our life is a reflection of decisions we.

made up to this point, you know, the the. the the the the sum of all our. decisions, you know, but we can only. make good decisions based on the. information that we know and remember. If we forgot half the words we knew, half the people we knew, half of our. expertise, we won't be able to make good. decisions for our life, good decisions. for our health, good you know, decisions. on our relationship and what to do. And. so memory really is is is a is a. superpower. And so with with um. with Elon, you know, I read this book um. we were bonding over this book called. The Structure of Scientific Revolution.

and it and um and by the other way like. the other thing you get from reading if. um fiction is not only creativity and. imagination um but also empathy. You. know, when you when you're identifying. with the persons in there, you get to. feel what they're feeling and how it. builds emotional intelligence. Um so we. bonded over Ender's Game and all these. great sci-fi books, but then the book we. were talking about The Structure of. Scientific Revolution and which. basically says that all innovation from. every industry, fashion, technology, automotive comes from somebody usually. outside the industry because it takes. somebody from the outside who didn't.

grow up with the same limiting beliefs. and education as someone traditional to. look in and say, "Why aren't you guys. doing it like this?" So that outside. perspective I learned from from Elon. Um. Stanley. Stanley uh recently passed and he was a. real superhero in my life. You know, I. was there through you know, many time. even when he got his Hollywood star of. fame um you know, and different moments. The reason why I was you know, I I. taught myself how to read, you know, 4. years. It took me a long time by reading.

comic books. Something about the. superhero journey brought that the. illustrations, the story brought it to. life the words to life for me. So he's. responsible for teaching me literacy. And for me Stan represents I'll give you. three things. Um for me he represents. play. Because at 95 even like you know, cuz I. was I was with him recently, he um. his later years, um he he was the. youngest old person I knew. You know what I mean? And he and that's.

I think that's so important because a. lot of people say they stop playing. because they grew older, but it's the. opposite. You grow older because you. stop playing. And he was so playful, you. know, so play is a huge lesson for me. Number Number The second P I would say. is passion. He found his passion to his. later years, you know, even when most. people have retired, he had two. passions. Number one, he still went to. work 9:00 to 5:00 in his well into his. 80s um you know, and in early 90s cuz he. loves telling stories. Mhm. You know,

because he found his passion. And I use. it as a passion. It was his wife who was. 1 year older. Yeah. So, that what a role. model that is for me. And then finally, the third P is his purpose. He turned. his his passion of superheroes and he. turned it into a real purpose meaning. superheroes, you know, what the. underlying thing about superheroes is. for us? I feel like. the lesson is one person can make a. difference. Totally. You know what I mean? With all their flaws and all their. mistakes. Exactly. And And all the biggest the.

most famous superheroes out there, they. had the biggest challenges. You know, all most of our my favorite superheroes, they were orphans. Spider-Man was. orphaned. Superman's orphaned. Wonder. Woman's orphaned. Batman was orphaned, you know, Iron Man. orphaned. You know, they had the the. biggest difficulties, you know, and. That's the same thing I love about. superheroes. And then And they And they. really represent hope. You know, look to. the sky, you know, one person, we could. all make a difference. And that's. purpose for me. Even I was a big. supporter of the Stan Lee Foundation and. it was all we all we we did is we.

brought entertainment with Stan as. brought entertainment to the classroom. cuz he knew education by itself is just. it's boring, you know, you can't just. you lecture to somebody. Kids don't. learn just by consuming. They learn. through creating, you know, and you talk. about this a lot. Education is one. thing, but education if you want real. empowerment, you melt education with. entertainment, then you have that. empowerment. And Stan was was epic in. that. The lessons he taught even back in. the 60s, you know, when we lost you. know, Martin Luther King and you know,

Kennedy and everything, he talked about. he talked about bigotry like back in the. 60s. You know, Stan, so he was a real. role model because for me, when we're. talking about play, we're talking about. passion, we're talking about purpose, it. also is about um. making a difference. You know, superheroes just having a superpower. doesn't make you superhero. Totally. Right? Everybody Somebody can. have a superpower. And I'm not talking. about superpowers of leaping tall. buildings and shooting lasers out of. your eyes. We all have our own super um. unique abilities or unique talents, you. know, our unique strengths. But just.

having those don't make you superhero. You have to use that of those powers to. make a difference. Totally. To make the world a better place. And. that's what he did through his his. foundation. Yeah. No, absolutely. Big honor to him and his incredible. work. And yeah, teaching so many lessons. through superheroes. Whether it's comics. or movies, I feel exactly the same way. The reason why I love superheroes, super. superhero movies and comics is because I. literally look at that and go. they've all got flaws. They've had. really challenging lives, but they're.

still trying to save the world and. they're working together. Yeah. Right? They all collaborate. They. That's huge. work together. all of their. flaws and with their different traits, they're not, you know, one superhero is. not looking at the other one going, "Oh, I wish I had uh lasers coming out my. eyes.". Right, right, right. They're happy and confident in their own. power and ability, but at the same time. they can appreciate the need for the. other one. Yeah. And that's kind of like. any kind of relationship, even even in. in a marriage or in your team, in your. organization, you know, they talk about. getting the right people on the bus and. then getting them in the right seats.

And then we're all driving, you know, through this vision together. But I. believe that the the greatest thing I. mean, I love books, but I think a single. conversation with somebody could go so. deep. And so, I'm I'm name I'm naming. famous people, like, you know, like a. Richard Branson or a you know, because. it the reason why though is is not to. drop names, is because it creates these. mnemonic triggers. So, when you see this. like, for example, with Jim Carrey, um. you know, I help actors um speed read. scripts or memorize their lines better. And we I remember we were in their. kitchen his kitchen, we're making.

guacamole, which is by the way, great. brain food. Avocado's great for your. brain. And I ask him like, you know, um, you know, why do you do what you do? Uh, going back to purpose and mission. And I. he's like, "Jim, I act like a complete. fool on camera and so extreme because I. want to get people watching permission. to be themselves." He's like, "My my. mission is to free people from the. concern of other people." Wow. And I really do believe, Jay, that you. know, we could go broke buying into the. opinions and expectations of other. people. That if we're being energized by. people's, you know, fueled by other.

people's opinions, then we could run out. of fuel and gas Totally. really, really, really fast. Totally. And I think one of the thing that. represses our ability to express. ourselves to the highest level is, you know, you know, I spend a lot. because I I lost my grandmother to. Alzheimer's, I spend a lot of time in. nursing homes still to this day, to. senior centers, not teaching them memory. tricks, but really showing them, you. know, having them share these stories. And you know, so we could polish off. their memories. But the biggest regret. at that age, when people are passing or.

you know, when they have limited amount. of time, is their biggest regret is, you. know, not living their life. I believe, Jay, for people to feel truly fulfilled. and happy, they want to have the. curiosity to know themself, but then also the courage to be. themself. Mhm. You know, the curiosity. to know yourself, you reflect, you. journal, you meditate, you go through. all these personal growth experiences to. know who you are. But then once you know more about who. you are, you know, being who you are is. it you know, it takes courage. It takes.

boldness because, you know, you don't. want to look bad and you don't want to. make a mistake. And those are, you know, big challenges people have. And so, um, you know, I don't I don't want people to. have that regret because if people are. scared about looking bad, I think people. should use that fear of saying, "Well, what if What if you would have done it? It would change your life. What if you. would have done it? It would have. changed the world." Mhm. Absolutely. We've all been there. Yeah. Moments where even now where we stop. ourselves. I've got five last big. questions for you. This is it now. So. it's.

These are the questions. What was the. last thing that you learned for the. first time? You probably asked that a. lot. What was the last. the last thing you learned for the first. time like recently? What did you learn. for the first time again? That I learn. we relearn. I think one of the most important. lessons I've ever learned is that. the. that I am 100% responsible Nice. for my. life. I constantly get that lesson over. and over again that I'm not a victim, that I am responsible for everything in.

my life, you know, and I think that. that's that's having that. it really serves people. Awesome. If you. could have any superpower, what would it. be and why? This is a big one, right? Yeah. Um. My I would love to have the superpower. of having other people unleash their. superpowers. That that's I'm very I'm. very passionate about that. Self you. know, like the ability to superpower to. heal other people. Mhm. Because we all. know somebody is struggling right now. Selfishly, it would be the ability to. teleport because you and I travel so.

much and we seen each other in so many. different countries. So uh you. That's true. You know, so teleporting. would be nice, but the ability to help. other people unleash their superpower. Same. I'm with you on that. I want the. same one. Yeah, I I feel like that's. that's yeah. modern day superheroes, the world. you know, the world people. the best version of ourselves showing. up. You know, imagine that like you you. talk about it with team, right? In. culture it's just like yes, Captain America's great on his own, Thor. is great on his own, Iron Man's great on.

their own, but when they come all. together in the Avengers or Batman. Superman in one room come together in. the Justice League, it's a different. it's a different story. Absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, this question. Best. advice you've ever received. The best. advice I've ever received. Or the one you can remember. Right. No, I can remember Well, I can. remember a lot. Um. I would say going um going back to my my. story about my original mentor is not to. let school get in the way of your. education that if you didn't perform. well in school.

then that's okay. That is not how smart. you are. It's it's really how are you. smart. Mhm. And everybody has everybody. has these gifts. Totally. Uh worst. advice you've ever given someone? The. worst advice I've ever given somebody? Oh goodness. Um. I would say this. I would. I would say this. This is my favorite advice to give. somebody but then there's the caveat of. the worst advice. So I'd say. know yourself, trust yourself, love. yourself, be yourself.

But if you're a jerk be somebody else. So don't be that person. So that would. be bad advice to give somebody who's a. jerk. Don't don't be that person. I like. it. I like it. And if someone wants to. become a better learner right now in. their life, what's the number one thing. that they can do to start that journey? Yeah. I would say this. Um Rumi said, "Sell your cleverness for. bewilderment." Mhm. You know what I. mean? Like I people do not learn because. they feel like they know it all. And we. talked about Stan Lee and his age 95. I.

believe age is a state of mind. It's a. state of heart. And if you were you know the fastest. learners on the planet, they're. children. You know, they have this sense. of wonder, the sense of bewilderment. They're they're they're fascinated. They. ask lots of questions. They're not. afraid of making mistakes. And you know, a child could fall a thousand times to. learn how to walk, you know, but. sometimes somebody wants to learn how to. sing or to dance. They try one or two. times and they have this fear of looking. bad. Yeah. And I would say trade and. sell your cleverness for bewilderment.

and play a whole lot more. That is. beautiful. We'll end on that. That is Jim Kwik, everyone. Mind-blown. Absolutely. mind-blowing. That was absolutely. incredible, man. That was just such a. pleasure and joy to listen to you speak. and share your stories. Thank you for. sharing so openly as well. I know you. really Thank you. went there. Thank you. for that. Thank you to everyone who's. listening and watching because. yeah, I would I recommend everyone to. listen to this one again and watch it. again. Yeah, I would I would say in. parting words is to listen to this, maybe even take a screenshot of this. video or podcast and then post it and.

then tag both of us and then share your. big aha. If you want to learn faster, the other thing I would say besides. being curious and playful is to teach. Oh, tell me When you learn how to and. then you learn with the intention. intention matters with you when you. learn with the intent of teaching. somebody else, you're going to learn it. faster because when we share when we. teach something we get to learn it. twice. So I would say if they can take. if it's appropriate take a screenshot of. it, tag us both, but share your big aha. or your big learning. So rewatch it, relisten to it and that goes a long way. I believe that our life.

I compare it to an egg that if an egg is. broken by an outside force, life ends, but if it's broken by an inside force, then life begins and all great things. begin on the inside and everyone here. they have greatness inside of them. They. have genius inside of them and I love. shows like yours because it helps people. to. let it out. No, absolutely. And it's. it's exactly what you just said. I. remember when I was studying as a monk, my biggest inspiration was also a quote. from Einstein who's who's standing right. there behind me. The quote was, "If you can't explain.

something simply, you don't understand. it well enough.". And that's how I would study. I would. study saying, "How do I simplify this to. explain it to someone?" Yeah. Because if. I can explain it to someone, articulate. to them in the way that they can. remember it, Mhm. and they can remember and apply it. in their own life again and again and. again, then I'll be able to do it, too. Interesting. If we're not No, you're living this. Like you're a great example of this that. if we're not unpacking it in that way, then there's no chance that we can live. it. So I love that. Study to learn. I.

mean, study to learn, yeah. Study to. learn and then when you teach, you learn. more, too. Yeah. Yeah, so we we learn. and then we earn and then we return. Thank you so much for watching that. video. If you enjoyed it, here's another. one I think you'll love. You don't even. know the number of amazing things you do. every day. Instead, you focus and. ruminate on the one thing you didn't get. to, and then you use that as evidence. Again, dust on the mirror. To see a human being that's not. measuring up and never will, and all.

that stuff their stupid fourth grade. teacher said to you must be true. Dust. on the mirror. No. You need to interrupt this.