Book Review - Limitless by Jim Kwik

DISCLAIMER -  I am not a Financial Advisor and do not work for any Brokerage Firm. The opinions given are of my own and are not to be used as professional advice.  These are my findings and can hopefully help you to make informed decisions on investing.  Consult a Broker or Lawyer before making any investment.

Book Review – Limitless  by Jim Kwik

This is one of the greatest books I have ever read.  It makes you question all the ways you have been trained to think and learn and apply new methods.    Get the book on Amazon at Limitless

I was hesitant to dive into this book as it seemed a little far-fetched to me initially.  This book is not about finances, but it is all about how to think and get rid of ‘Limiting beliefs’ about yourself.    Doing this will help you in making financial decisions and learning to live a full complete life.

Few books have ever left me with such a strange feeling as this one has.   Richard Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad made me question my ‘limiting beliefs’ on investments, but this book opens up many foods for thought.   How much of your brain are you using?   And could you easily be learning much more and much faster?

This book has a lot of answers.    Jim Kwik tells his life story of having a fall when he was very young, and it impaired his ability to think and learn.    He earlier could not learn like all the other kids, but after his accident things just did not make sense.   His teachers were so discouraged with him that one of them nicknamed him “The boy with the damaged brain.”    NEVER tell a child something like this, as a child takes what they are told as fact.    That is why so many movements today are trying to indoctrinate young children with false teachings since they don’t yet have the maturity to make good decisions and know the truth from a lie.  If a wrong thing is taught (a lie) and a person of authority teaches it, it is assumed to be true by a young person.

Jim Kwik was hurt by the teacher’s comment, and it set him off on the path that made him have a horrible time in school.   Even in college, he simply could not learn things being taught by current teaching techniques.   Then he found out he needed to learn “How to Learn.”   That changed his life, and now he is a coach to people all around the world and a motivational speaker.
 
What  I learned from “Limitless” by Jim Kwik:
Our most precious gift is our brain.   It allows us to learn, love, think, create, and even experience joy.  It is the gateway to our emotions and it allows us to innovate, grow and accomplish great things.   

Humans (and our brains) are not computers and we can not multi-task and be effective like a computer can.   We need to prioritize things and concentrate on the one thing at hand.  Focus is crucial.  Jim says that part of the reason we can not learn effectively is due to the four digital enemies to our minds.
 
Digital Deluge – we have an almost unending flood of information that we do not have the time to process it all.  This results in anxiety, feeling overwhelmed, and sleeplessness.
 
Digital Distraction – We have this fake pleasure from all the digital distractions about us.  Our emails ping and our phones ding with messages.   We have so many distractions that it is hard to accomplish anything.   We must limit this so we can be in the moment and do what we are doing without constant distraction.
 
Digital Dementia – We can let our memory/brain become of no use by thinking every answer can be googled.   We don’t process what is happening and come to our conclusions as we should.   We are effectively outsourcing our brain to the internet, and not all things are facts on the internet.
 
Digital Deduction – We let our computers make deductions for us.  That is for us to assess and do, not some google algorithm program.  We have lost the ability to process information and come up with deductions.   Don’t let machines make your deductions for you.

Mindset is so important.  Mindset is the held beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions we create about who we are, how the world works, what we are capable of and deserve, and what is possible.  Jim used ‘superheroes’ in his life to protect and project himself.   He wanted to be a hero like Spiderman.

Most everyone has some kind of ‘limiting beliefs.’  We are taught certain things about our limitations and we take those to be fact.  In the book, he tells the story of Roger Bannister.  Back in the 50s, it was a known ‘belief’ that no one could ever run a mile in less than 4 minutes.    But in 1954, Roger ran it in under 4 minutes.  46 days later another person ran it faster than he, and since then, over 1400 others have run a sub-4 minute mile.   See how we need to not limit what we can do.    With the right mindset, we can be limitless.

If we have these limiting beliefs, it is more than just in our heads.   John Hopkins found that people with positive attitudes are 13 percent less likely to have heart attacks.    Optimism can increase our life span, lower the rate of depression, and lower levels of distress when they come.   We even have greater resistance to the common cold and have better coping skills during hardships.

We need to reframe our limited beliefs by first identifying the limiting belief and getting to the facts causing those limiting beliefs.  Overcome those with a new belief.
 
Jim identifies the 7 Lies of learning.

Lie no 1:  Intelligence is fixed.    It is not fixed and we can continue to learn.

Lie no 2:  We only use 10% of our brain.  We can not honestly determine how much of the brain is being used, but we can stretch ourselves and start using all of our brain.

Lie no 3:  Mistakes and failures.   They do not doom us.   We need to learn from each one.  Albert Einstein once said, “People who never made a mistake have never tried anything new.”   We make mistakes and we need to learn from them and move on.

Lie No 4:  Knowledge is Power.     While not totally wrong, we must learn and take that knowledge and apply it in some action for it to become power. If you do not apply the knowledge, there is no power in just the knowledge.

Lie No 5: Learning New Things if Very Difficult –The truth is learning will not always be easy, but the effort pays dividends.  Learning is a set of methods and a process that becomes easier than you know how to learn.

Lie no 6:  Criticism of Other People Matters.  We must learn to let go of the fear of criticism from others.

Lie No 7:  Genius is born.     Genius is learned and there is always a method behind what looks like magic.  Genius is not born but made through deep practice.
 
To learn and grow, we need to use The Three M’s:
Mindset
Methods
Motivation
 
What we eat can help fuel the brain.  Here is a list of top brain foods:

Avocados, Blueberries, Broccoli, Dark Chocolate, Eggs, Green Leafy Vegetables,
Salmon, sardines, Caviar, Turmeric, Walnuts, and Water   (Brain is about 80 percent water so dehydration can cause brain fog and fatigue.   Well-hydrated people score better on brainpower tests.
 
To become limitless, we must learn to FOCUS.  

We must limit distractions and calm our busy minds.  Anxious minds can cause us to overthink.  Things like yoga and meditation can help to calm our minds.

3 things to help calm the mind:

1. Breathe simple easy in and out-breaths.
2. Do something about the stress causing the mind to be uncalm
3. Schedule time for distractions   (but minimize them throughout the day)

Memory – You must train your memory.

There is a whole set of chapters on this.   But we can teach our minds to remember things.  We may need to relate the thing or person’s name to a place or even a smell.  You can make the words into a story to help you remember each name in a list.  

​Use the mnemonic device with the letters: MOM
M: Motivation
O:  Observation
M: Methods
 
One of the best quotes in the book is from Mark Twain:  The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.
 
Speedreading.   Many ideas are given on how to speed up our reading.  One is to remember that probably the last time you took a reading course was the fourth grade.  When we first started reading, we had to ‘vocalize’ each word and speak it to the teacher.   Without realizing it, our brain may be vocalizing each word causing us to slow down.  

Also by using your finger on each line as we read, we can drastically pick up speed.  Words begin to flow and we don’t have to read each word to understand the sentences.   It simply ties together as the commas and periods are there but not processed in our minds.  This is important and it has improved my reading speed to almost double.
 
 
In conclusion, we need to learn to think and use new methods of learning.   What you were taught may not be your optimal learning method.   Jim Kwik has caused me to question everything and try new methods.  Learning is a life-long process.  We  must continue to grow and learn.  The brain is a muscle, and it needs a workout.   People who continue to grow and learn are much less susceptible to brain diseases such as Alzheimer's.
         
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