From Broken to Brilliant | Superheroes, Speed-Reading, and the Secret to Unlocking Your Inner Genius - Jim Kwik: Kwik Learning
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When was the last time you skimmed over a book or article and realized that by the time you finished, absolutely nothing stuck? Well, it turns out speed-reading isn’t as easy as 1-2-3; like any superpower, it needs to be trained. Today we sit down to talk with Jim Kwik, author of Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, & Unlock Your Exceptional Life and founder of online brain-training platform Kwik Learning, which aims to enhance memory and teach speed-reading techniques. With students from over 195 countries, Kwik Learning has become an incredibly successful way to realize Jim’s mission: “No Brain Left Behind.” In this episode, Jim will discuss his early struggles with memory and reading; the life-changing trip to California that sparked his passion for “quick” (no pun intended) learning; the origins and impact of the Kwik Learning platform; and finally, the Limitless legacy that he wanted to leave behind. So kick back, relax, and let’s learn all the ways we can each unlock our own inner genius.
Feature Quotes
“I tell people that their life is like an egg. That if an egg is broken by an outside force, life ends. But if it’s broken by an inside force, life begins. Great things begin on the inside, and showing people that they have greatness inside of them-- that they have genius inside of them-- is my mission. I’m gonna show people how to unleash that genius.”
“If knowledge is power, learning is our superpower. And it’s a superpower we all have. We just have to learn how to unleash it.”
“Your passion is what lights you up, but your purpose is how you use your passion to light other ppl up.”
“It’s interesting that the boy with the broken brain could go out there, and his mission is to build better brains & a better future for people… No brain left behind.”
Show Notes:
Early childhood: How Jim’s family upbringing and overall family life fostered an early mindset of developing strength through struggles and the importance of memory and a healthy brain.
A life-changing Injury: Jim discusses how a kindergarten freak accident resulted in an irreparable, life-changing injury that held disastrous consequences in both his later social and academic lives.
Finding escape in fantasy: What role did comic books play in helping him cope with the limitations brought on by injury, and how did it impact the development of his early values, beliefs, and thoughts regarding identity?
“The boy with the broken brain”: How interactions with classmates and teachers, as well as under-performance in certain areas of academics, reinforced and ultimately solidified Jim’s perception of being the “boy with the broken brain.”
The Da Vinci Report: How one extra-credit book report on the likes of Albert Einstein and Leonardo da Vinci brought Jim’s own learning disability into perspective and briefly enabled him to overcome his insecurity. But on the day he was supposed to turn it in, how did that hope so quickly turn into disappointment? How did this push him back into the dark, mental abyss of his broken identity?
Search for redemption: After the disillusionment resulting from the book-report incident, how did Jim’s final experiences in high school influence the mindset he held as he prepared to enter university?
Striking gold at rock-bottom: Jim’s initial experiences in college left him feeling desperate and discouraged. How did an impromptu trip to the Golden State flip the switch of his negative mindset?
A book a week: What was the promise that Jim made to his mentor, and what were the primary motivators that pushed him to fulfill it? How did the strive to maintain this promise ultimately impact him?
Turning point: where books and reading were once Jim’s kryptonite, they eventually became his salvation. Like the superheroes in his beloved comic books, the very adversity he faced previously set him towards the discovery of his new superpower: speed-reading. And with that, a boost in confidence that improved every area of his life.
Origins of Kwik Learning: Jim discusses his motivations behind Kwik Learning: what sparked his vision, how he turned that vision into reality, the impact it had on friends and strangers alike, and how it allowed him to discover his purpose in cultivating the average person’s “inner genius.”
A limitless legacy: after a near-death experience, Jim began to reflect on the type of legacy he wanted to leave behind, not only for himself, but also for the 18-year-old kid who might be going through what Jim had endured at that age. How did this experience motivate Jim to write Limitless?
Final thoughts and takeaways
External Links
Limitless: Upgrade Your Brain, Learn Anything Faster, & Unlock Your Exceptional Life by Jim Kwik: https://www.amazon.com/Limitless-Upgrade-Anything-Faster-Exceptional/dp/1401958230
Kwik Learning Website: https://kwiklearning.com/
Kwik Brain Podcast: https://jimkwik.com/category/podcast/
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie: https://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/0671027034
Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz: https://www.amazon.com/Psycho-Cybernetics-Updated-Expanded-Maxwell-Maltz-ebook/dp/B00SI02BW4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1602972521&sr=1-1
Excerpt on Albert Einstein’s Learning Disability from Disconnected Kids by Dr. Robert Melillo: https://www.dupageneurowellness.com/childhood-neuro-disorders/albert-einsteins-learning-disability/
Disconnected Kids: The Groundbreaking Brain Balance Program for Children with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Other Neurological Disorders by Dr. Robert Melillo: https://www.amazon.com/Disconnected-Kids-Groundbreaking-Neurological-Disorders/dp/0399535608
Was Leonardo Da Vinci’s Dyslexia Responsible for His Brilliance? | Thomas Jefferson University
https://www.jefferson.edu/university/news/2019/05/7/dyslexia-helped-leonardo-davinci.html
