I is for Image

We've already discussed at length how the language of your memory is images. Just in case you're still not getting this concept, consider this. Faces are much easier to remember than names, right? How many times have you seen someone and said, "I recognize the face, but I can't recall the name"? It never goes the other way. You've never seen someone and said "Hey, you're Roger Seip, but I forgot your face!" Your brain loves images, so the more clearly and vividly you can visualize information, the easier it is to recall later.

G is for Glue

Here's where the magic happens. Once you have a file to store information and then have it in a vivid image format, you'll want to glue the image to the file so that it sticks. What makes for strong glue? Two things.

Action and Emotion

The more action and emotion involved with your images, the better they will stick to your files.

Here's a good example of this: Can you remember every time you've driven your car? Of course not, but you can remember the times you got in an accident or got pulled over, right? Why? Lots of action and emotion. Can you remember where you were or what you were doing on August 11, 2001? Probably not, but I bet you can remember your life in vivid detail on September 11, 2001. Why? Lots of action and emotion.

How do you harness this? When you're creating mental images and gluing them to your files, make the images as action-oriented as possible. Make them as vivid, crazy, and outlandish as possible. Images that are doing something are much more effective than images that are just sitting there. A client of mine once said "Your brain remembers videos better than snapshots." Images that make you laugh, gross you out, seem totally ridiculous, or are even kind of racy work much better than images that make logical sense but are boring or normal. Every world champion memory athlete (yes, there are memory championships, and the competitors are amazing in what they can do) will tell you that when it comes to creating images that are memorable, "It's helpful to have kind of a dirty mind." So incorporate as much action and emotion into your images as possible.

You'll see examples of this vivid action and emotion as we progress.

Your First Filing System—Your Body

What did we say can be used as a file? Anything you can see with your eyes or visualize with your mind. The first file system we usually create in our workshops is called your body files. It's a great first system because:

You can see it.

It's always with you.

You know the parts of your body without much thought, so it's easy.

Right here you're going to get the same body files we create in our live workshops, using the exact same order and the exact same terminology. Just because of space limitations, I won't go into all the specific reasons why we use this order and this terminology, but rest assured there is a specific reason. Again, don't judge the process, do evaluate your results. You'll use 10 body files, in the following order:

1. Your soles (of your feet)

2. Your shins

3. Your legs

4. Your butt

5. Your tummy

Note Your tummy creates what we call a center or midpoint file. We're halfway through this list of 10 files. Notice you are also approximately halfway up your body. This creation of a center file is not necessary, but it's really helpful as it takes advantage of the principle of chunking. We recommend it every time you create a filing system. Onward:

6. Your ribs

7. Your collarbone

8. Your mouth

9. Your nose

10. Your forehead

Take a moment to review these in your mind, even physically touch each one of them in order. Now, to lock them in, go to the next page and write them down. Do it without looking back, and do the best you can. If you get stuck on the name of one or two files, don't worry. Just skip over those and get the ones you can. Once you're to the end, see if your brain gave you the ones you may have missed. If you're just blank, come back to this page for the answers.

Body File #1 ___________

Body File #2 ___________

Body File #3 ___________

Body File #4 ___________

Body File #5 ___________

Body File #6 ___________

Body File #7 ___________

Body File #8 ___________

Body File #9 ___________

Body File #10 ___________

Just to double-lock them in, please write them down in reverse order. This time no looking back at all.

10

  9

  8

  7

  6

  5

  4

  3

  2

  1

Nice work! You've now got an excellent filing system in place! I've seen our clients use their body files as a terrific place to store all kinds of important information—grocery lists, to-do lists, huge charts full of numerical data, foreign languages, you name it. In Chapter 3 we'll be using your body files (along with another filing system you've already developed but probably didn't realize it) to visually learn all the main points found here in Train Your Brain for Success, as well as some other applications that will boost your mental capacity on a number of different levels.

Before we move on, I wanted to give you a little encouragement about learning in general. I'm aware that what you're doing right now is probably quite a bit different from what you're accustomed to doing with a book. Because it's different, you may feel a little awkward or uncomfortable with the process at this point. That may even continue for a little while. So here are four things to wrap up this chapter.

If you're feeling a little awkward, understand that is a normal and required part of learning something new.

I told you this awkwardness and discomfort could happen, and I also told you that you will break through. Don't judge the process; do evaluate your results. Sometimes results come quickly, sometimes they take a little longer. Everyone learns at their own pace.

I'm sure you've heard the saying that anything worth doing is worth doing well. Brian Tracy taught me that anything worth doing is worth doing poorly, at first. Seriously, think about anything you're good at now and that you love. You had to go through a learning curve with it just like anything else. If learning more effectively is important to you, embrace that learning curve when it comes to improving your recall and your life.

Depending on your learning style, you may just learn some skills better from seeing something done than by reading it in a book. That's why we've created the Reinforcement and Bonuses. Don't hesitate to use those for a fully interactive visual training reinforcement.

I also think it's appropriate to give you and your brain a little recognition. If you've done this chapter in the way that I've asked, you've likely spent somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes working through it. That's not much time, and look at how much improvement you've already made! The first time you tested yourself on the unicorn list, you got a handful of correct answers. Now, just from this one chapter, you've probably got:

All 20 items on the unicorn list.

A working knowledge of the language of your memory.

A basic understanding of the mental file folder system.

Three things needed to remember anything: File, Image, Glue.

Ten body files that are primed and ready to store information.

That's 35 separate pieces of information, in a relatively short period of time. Congratulations! You may be realizing that your brain is capable of way more than you thought just a few hours ago. As a brain training tool, we strongly encourage you to frequently catch yourself doing things right. Don't BS yourself, but when you give yourself little mental pats on the back, you're activating the reward centers in your brain in a way that boosts your energy and makes you crave more learning. You'll learn all about "Little Victories" in Chapter 17, but reinforce those reward centers starting now—you deserve it!

With that in mind, let's start loading useful information into those files!