Unlike so many other guides to memory improvement, this book is not intended as an exhaustive introduction to every memory technique out there. Instead, it is an unveiling of my own journey into the power of memory and of my own discoveries about how the human brain works. I have won the World Memory Championships eight times so far and I’ve been able to do that because, by trial and error, and by careful, faithful perseverance and dedication, I’ve uncovered the specific techniques that have given me a perfect (well, near-perfect!) memory. This book is my way to share those techniques with you in ways that I know work – because these were the ways that worked for me.
In order to get the most out of the book, try to resist dipping in and out of it, reading the chapters by random selection. In the first half of the book, each chapter builds on the discoveries that come before – so, some techniques or details may not make sense if you haven’t read the information in sequence. The second half of the book provides all the various ways you can apply the techniques, either for dedicated practice or in day-to-day life, as well as some tips on how to make sure that your body is healthy as well as your mind – another important aspect of memory training.
You might wonder how long it’s going to take for the techniques to work. There are no fixed guidelines on this. Some techniques may click with you instantly, some may take more practice. The important thing is that you don’t give up. I do suggest, though, that you don’t move on to a new technique or new challenge in your memory training until you’re completely confident with the step before. It’s pointless, for example, trying to memorize a full deck of cards if you haven’t yet made it past 20 cards without error. If you try to do too much too soon, you’ll only become frustrated and you’re more likely to give up altogether.
The other important thing is that, while the book provides you with the methods, you’ll need to do the practice. If you like, you can dedicate time each day to memorizing some cards or a sequence of numbers, but actually daily life presents all sorts of opportunities for notching up practice time without feeling that you have to make a special effort. I cover this in Chapter 27.
There are 15 exercises in the book, too. The first and last are benchmark tests – you’ll be able to see how far you’ve come by the improvement in your scores. The other 13 relate to specific aspects of memory training and they encourage you to practise skills or repeat certain challenges that develop memory power. Several of them include timed elements. It’s really important that when you’re memorizing you don’t clock-watch, so I strongly urge that you attempt these exercises using a timer with an alarm that you can set to go off when the allocated time is up.
Most of all, though, try to keep an open mind. Read the techniques and try the exercises with a positive attitude, because I’m certain that succeeding starts with believing. Good luck!