Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Memory Skill Tips

"According to a 2010 article in Scientific American, the memory capacity of the human brain was reported to have the equivalent of 2.5 petabytes of memory capacity. As a number, a “petabyte” means 1024 terabytes or a million gigabytes, so the average adult human brain has the ability to store the equivalent of 2.5 million gigabytes digital memory."*

The human Brain however, typically only remembers approximately 20 % of what you have learnt. To build up your memory you need to improve your short term memory to pass it along to your long term memory.

Below are some takeaways from a course I recently had the opportunity to attend.
(Please share your techniques in the comment section.)

·      Repetition

·      Spaced Repetition – If learn something today - repeat a day later, a week later, and then a month later your

·      Exaggeration – exaggerate the event into something bigger or smaller (e.g. you generally do not remember your work commute unless something happens such as witnessing an accident)

   Images play big role in memory –associate an image to what you want to remember

·      Focus – Don’t multi-task e.g. How many times have you lost your keys/ phone in your home? Often the reason is you are doing multiple things when you put your keys/ phone down somewhere

Mnemonic: Brain Shortcuts
Associate image with what you would like to remember   
 
Acrostic: Take first letter of each word to make a full sentence
 e.g. Oceans: I Am A Person
India, Arctic, Atlantic, Pacific

Acronym: Take first letter of words, use to make a word
e.g. AWOL - Absent Without Official Leave

Rhymes: Make up a rhyme (The “3 Rs” — rhyme, rhythm, and repetition)
 e.g. How many days in each month
Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November, all the rest have thirty-one.

Remembering Names:
·      Listen: Pay attention, and focus on the name and not on what you are going to say (pay attention).

·      Repetition – repeat it to yourself, and say a few times while talking to the person

·      Associate the name with something - Create a connection e.g. your best friend has the same name

·      Link the name with the face --- what stands out e.g. they have a dimple in their chin

Memorizing Speech, Script or Song:
 
Repeat Repeat Repeat
Say it out loud a few times, do not stop when make a mistake  --Try and remember between longer and longer periods (e.g. 1 day latter, 5 day later etc.

Record it – Play it back repeatedly in the background when doing mundane tasks etc. Try recite after you have listened to it many times.

·      Write it down a few times
·      Try and learn it backwards. It makes you concentrate on each line in isolation.

Remembering Passwords:

·      Password Phrase Method
Have a phrase that has numbers or words that are phonetically similar
Create a sentence you can remember, then use the first letters and punctuation of the sentence.
E.g. Hi my name is John, my daughter loves to dance!
Password: HmniJ,mdl2d!

Phrase could be something you associate the password with.
E.g. you work for a marketing company
I am in charge of the Arizona Tourism campaign, and I love my job!
Password: IaicotATc,aIlmj!

“Memory is the treasury, and guardian of all things.” Marcus Tullius Cicero

Presentation Tips: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-wife-says-article-boring-what-your-thoughts-ryan-joffe/

Good luck!

Additional resources:
http://www.mempowered.com/
http://www.learninginfo.org/
https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/how-to-improve-your-memory.htm
https://www.health.harvard.edu/topics/improving-memory
*https://www.cnsnevada.com/what-is-the-memory-capacity-of-a-human-brain/#:~:text=As%20a%20number%2C%20a%20%E2%80%9Cpetabyte,2.5%20million%20gigabytes%20digital%20memory.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanjoffe/

Character vs. Reputation





“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden

The above is easier said than done, but still holds true. In today’s world your past indiscretions and mistakes are more difficult to move away from, and are easier to spread.

Individuals have said things, and done things in their past which they may have believed in at the time, but cringe at now. People grow and evolve.

We need to look at the person’s character, and not rely on reputation which may or may not be true.

 The majority of religions include teachings on the nature of forgiveness. Everyone has ‘missteps’ in their life (some more than others). Don’t let those missteps, define your character.
Character is defined by your mental and moral qualities:
Are You Honest, Do You Show Kindness, Are You Generous, Are You Sincere, Are You Forgiving, and Do You Have Good Morals and Values.

I cannot speak for any of the names listed below, as I obviously do not know them personally. However, I can assume they have all shown some of the Character traits above. They all went through adversity, became successful, and did not go back to crime. My belief is that they took accountability for their mistakes by changing their life paths. They showed character.

Daniel Manville - served three + years in jail for manslaughter. While he was in jail he studied the legal profession, earning two college degrees. After he got out he went to law school. He passed the bar, representing both prison guards and inmates in civil court cases.

Uchendi Nwani - served six and a half months of labor at a federal boot camp for drug dealing. After his time, he lived in a halfway house and cut hair at the university salon where he resumed studies. He opened his own barber shop and shares his success by traveling nationwide, motivating others to follow their dreams even in the midst of adversity.

Jeff Henderson - served ten years for dealing and manufacturing cocaine as a youth. During his time in prison he discovered he liked to cook. When released, he worked as a chef in LA before moving to Las Vegas. He is currently working at Caesar’s Palace, earning top recognition and rewards.

Tim Allen - Before Tim Allen became a famous celebrity, he served two years + in the Federal Correctional Institution for cocaine possession and drug trafficking. After his time in prison he turned his life around and became a famous Hollywood actor.

50 Cent - Before he became a famous rapper, Curtis Jackson III (aka 50 Cent) served a six-month boot camp sentence (instead of his original three-to-nine years) for drug-related charges. While in prison, he earned his GED and was determined to make it as a rapper. His first album was a hit, and continues to make music.

Danny Trejo - Danny Trejo was in and out of prisons for charges relating to both robbery and drugs. He finally turned his life around and broke free of his addictions. He now plays been in many television shows and action films.

The past should never be forgotten, however if responsibility has been taken should it be forgiven?
We need to learn from the past to become better people with better characters.

Character cannot be taken away from you by any person

Convince Yourself It’s Possible, and Keep Moving Forward.

Be a Mensch!*

 Traits that Show a person’s underlying value of beliefs:

·      Generosity
·      Integrity
·      Loyalty
·      Devotion
·      Loving
·      Kindness
·      Sincerity
·      Self-control
·      Peacefulness
·      Faithfulness
·      Patience
·      Determination
·      Persistence
·      Adventurous
·      Fairness
·      Cooperation
·      Tolerance
·      Optimism
·      Spirituality
“Reputation is like a tree, and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Lincoln

* "a person of integrity and honor"

Source:
https://www.arrestrecords.com/15-surprising-ex-convicts-who-made-it-big/
Articles:

Is the Art of Conversation being lost through technology: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/art-conversation-being-lost-through-technology-causing-ryan-joffe/
Common Courtesy: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/july-month-common-courtesy-ryan-joffe

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryanjoffe/