Session 265 Luis Angel was a Memory Master Champion on FOX's Superhuman Show. Luis also wrote a book called Better Memory Now. Listen in as they talk about how you can learn to retain more information to improve your grades! Several students are having study technique issues. They can't study well and need better study habits. So Ryan went out and found Luis. He has competed in memory competitions and has written a book about it. Today, Ryan and Luis discuss how you as a premed can better prepare yourself to learn and better learn what you're already studying. [01:15] Becoming a Memory Athlete If you thought Luis was born coming out of the womb memorizing a deck of cards, you're wrong. He actually struggled a lot in high school through college. Even up to the point that it drove him to discover this. That's what drove him to discover this because he was failing in his English and Science classes. Then his English teacher told gave him a D minus so can move one. It was that grade in high school that got him to pursue to be able to graduate high school. When he got to college, he was looking forward to having a fresh start. But having the same blueprint he had in the past and expecting a different result, he obviously didn't get the results he wanted. He got on probation and got kicked out of the semester. "When you go into a new situation with the same blueprint that you've had in the past, expecting a different result, you normally don't get that." Not doing great at school he was told he had ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), His psychologist gave him the meds. Luis thinks that while some people need them, he personally didn't prefer that route. He wanted the natural fix. So he went the memory training route of improving his memory. Now, he competes all over the world. He was on FOX's Superhuman Show. [03:30] The Biggest Thing He Has Memorized For Luis, the biggest feat for him was on that show. He had done for hours in huge competitions. But for the Superhuman Show, he had to memorize over a hundred people's names. This includes their first name, last name initial, their home towns. He obviously had to memorize the faces and something special about them. He was under pressure with all the lights and the celebrities out there and family members. So for him it was the biggest thing with over 500 pieces of information he had to memorize that day. It wasn't like he wasn't given months or weeks to prepare or get that information in his head. And he got everything correct! In actual memorizing memory competitions, he has memorized thousands of numbers in a matter of an hour, doing over two hundreds in five minutes. [05:10] Moving Short Term Memory to Long Term Memory Luis explains there are three steps to memorize anything quickly. This depends on the type of material you're trying to memorize and what it's going to take for you to commit that to memory. When you're memorizing elements or anatomical structure, this technique is easier to apply and commit them to long term memory. First, you need a location. Be able to store the information on a specific place. They call these memory maps or mental journeys in their minds. Second, visualize.Turn the information you want to retain into an image or story in the text to the location. Third step is review. If you don't review the information, it doesn't matter if you're the best memorizer in the world or you're just getting started. If you don't review, you're going to forget. "Apply the memory techniques and then do the review aspect of that to retain that information." [07:38] Before Anything Else: The Mindset Change The first thing to do is to change your mindset. Tony Robbins was a great inspiration for Luis. Before he even got to the memory side of the world, he first  got into personal development. He went out there and sought individuals who are performing at an optimal level. He learned how they got to that point. One of the things Tony talks about is having these limiting beli