6. Clean environment 7. Sleep 8. Brain protection: avoid extremes (e.g. sports), your brain is fragile 9. New learnings: neuroplasticity possible even in older age; nutrience + novelty 10. stress manangement A lot of things are common sense, but not common practice.

F.A.S.T. learning is the key concept for improving your brain performance.

F = forget what you know, your circumstances and limitations A = activate your brain by consuming less and creating more S = state is important, emotions create long term memories T = teach, because you learn it twice by telling others

Only 1/3 of our brain performance is determined. That means: 2/3 is in your control. There is nothing like a good or bad mind, only a trained and a not trained one. Learning how to learn is the most important thing in life. Unfortunately we are not really taught in school, how to do that properly. So we need catch up!

Quick recall can be trained with the MOM-method: Motivation, Observation, Mechanics. Motivation: If someone gives your 100.000 $ to just remember a name, you would do that, right? So recall is a matter of whether you want it or not. Check your motivation by asking WIIFN: Whats in it for me? Reasons reap results!

Observation: (1) Fight for your limitations and you get to keep them. (2) Its not your retention, its your attention. Leaders have a great memory because they care (e.g. Bill Clinton). Try not to listen in order to respond, but to understand. Quick recall via MOM – Mechanics (follows).

1. Good diet: You are, what you eat. 2. Kill "ants" (= automatic negative thoughts --> Dr. Daniel Amen) 3. Excerise: When your body moves, your brain growes 4. Brain nutrience (supplements) 5. Positive peer-group: who you spend time with, is who you become.

Knowledge is power. Especially in the new knowledge economy we live in. The average CEO for example reads 4-5 books a month. Why? Because it gives him/her an advantage to non-readers. Leaders are readers!

To read 4-5 books per month like CEOs you don't even need to speed read (which is good anyway). Do the math: An average person reads 200 words per minute. An average book has 64000 words. Hence, you only need to read 45 minutes a day to complete that task. Just imagine whats possible if you are able to read faster ...

1. Keep a book list. 2. Start by testing your reading speed. 3. Keep in mind: You can finish a book per week by reading 45 minutes a day. 4. Schedule your reading time. Take your day peak as orientation.

Method for remembering names: BE SUAVE. B = Believe: Most people think they are unable to do certain things. That's the issue! All behavior is believe driven. "You cannot do it, YET!" E = Exercise: Practice makes progress. Bad news: It takes effort. Good news: Not so much :-)

S = Say it. Recall the name. U = Use it. Three or more times in the conversation. A = Ask. Talk about the name. Story behind it. Spelling etc. V = Visualize. Especially the face. E = End with their name. And they will remember yours as well ;-)

The average person reads 200 words per minute. Even with this tempo you could easily read a book a week by taking 45 minutes a day. But, however, this does not mean you keep in mind what you read. There are typical problems people have with reading.

Lack of skill: Reading isn’t something you can do when you are born. It’s a skill. So: When did you actually learn to read? In first class, right? Since then no one really gets taught how do it properly. So most people stay on that level of their ability to read.

Lack of focus: It’s a myth, that faster readers have less comprehension. It’s even the other way around. If you have no time for distraction, you focus more. Remember: Information combined with emotion becomes long term memory. Use a pen/finger as a visual pacer.

How do you recall a list of 10 random words? Test it. Read this list only once and then write down what you remember. Note: Its not about failure (which is good!). Fire hydrant. Balloon. Batteries. Barrel. Board. Diamant. Knight Rider. Ox. Tooth paste. Sign.

Now tell a story including these words. It doesn't have to make sense, just make something up (e.g. creative, funny, crazy). Now recall your story and write all the words down on a sheet. Did it work? You also learned the first 10 elements in the periodic table ;-) ...

Fire hydrant = hydrogen Balloon = helium Batteries = lithium Barrel = beryllium Board = borum Diamant = carbon Knight Rider = nitrogen Ox = oxygen Tooth paste = flour Sign = neon

By the way: Telling a story helps remembering things. Also does: primacy (first word), recency (last word), organization, emotion, outstanding things.

Subvocalization slows you down. Your brain can think faster than you can speak. 3 Hacks: 1. Strech yourself with getting used to shortcuts while reading. 2. Listen to music, because it may distract you from subvocalization (e.g. barock with 60 b/s). 3. Break patterns with humming, chewing gum or counting.

We forget 80% of what we learn during 48 hours. Thats tragic! What to do? The key is taking notes in a helpful way. How?

1. Be active in listening. 2. Know your purpose. 3. Textual hierarchy (e.g. highlighting or underlining) 4. Organize your notes. 5. Use your own words (verbatim note-taking is pretty useless!) 6. Create your own system (e.g. abbreviation, symbols) 7. Filter important information.

Research suggests: Handwriting is the most successful method for notes. This way you have to synthesize the information, because you don't have time to write everything down.

Method: Capture and create Take a blank sheet and draw a line in the middle. On the left side you capture all the info (imagine the left, logic part of the brain). On the right side you work with this info on your own, creating something important for you (imagine the right, creative part of the brain).

Method: TIP T = think about what to retain I = identify relevant information P = prioritize it

I never want to stop making memories with you.

You have to be young to be able to do things like that. Now I'm more cautious. I'm proud that I was able to do what I did - psychologically it was a great wall to climb - but sometimes I regret it.

The individual has always to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.

I really do think the things that make our society what it is are under threat. It should be about everyone having the potential to be what they're going to be.

The movie style of fighting is completely exaggerated with over-the-top movements. You'd get completely hammered if you fought like that in a real fight situation.

Every single one of my books had its title changed almost as we were going to press, for all sorts of different reasons.

I grew up reading comic books. Super hero comic books, Archie comic books, horror comic books, you name it.

I got that nickname my first spring training camp with the Expos in 1974. Tim Foli, Ken Singleton and Mike Jorgensen started calling me 'Kid' because I was trying to win every sprint. I was trying to hit every pitch out of the park.

I was sporty in high school. I played tennis and hockey, and was basketball captain. Then I went to university and stopped doing sport and started eating ice cream.

The academic life is wonderful. That's why people love to do research.

Seeing the rebirth of the Delaware Estuary as a valuable natural resource is certainly encouraging, and I am encouraged not just by the progress made in the Delaware Estuary but in estuaries throughout the country.

You may have seen me in movies like 'Fast & Furious' and 'Avatar.' But I wouldn't have been able to do any of that without hard work and determination. You can accomplish anything if you just stay out of trouble and do the right things.

Let's drink to the spirit of gallantry and courage that made a strange Heaven out of unbelievable Hell, and let's drink to the hope that one day this country of ours, which we love so much, will find dignity and greatness and peace again.

Nothing that you do will ever feel good if you let people convince you that you have no choice.

Well, you know, if you do 200 shows a year, they're not all going to be like Castle Donnington.

It is hard for people outside the White House to understand the constant daily problems and issues that come up that require the president's attention, but he can not let himself get too personally involved.

There's a reason that all societies and cultures and small bands of humans engage in myth-making. Fundamentally, it is to help us understand ourselves.

Notifying the enemy in advance of our withdrawal dates or reassuring the enemy that we will not use certain capabilities like our ground forces should be avoided.

I've been & am absurdly over-estimated. There are no supermen & I'm quite ordinary, & will say so whatever the artistic results. In that point I'm one of the few people who tell the truth about myself.

In a way I guess I'd be a bad judge of what it was like because it just seemed perfectly normal to me.

I always miss my mom. Mother's Day would be just one more day I'd feel her absence but for the relentless commercialization. Thanks to that, this day is even harder to deal with.

I try to be fussy about the parts I play. I think that's quite prudent, it means you're stretching different muscles, and you're scaring yourself by doing something which is out of your comfort zone.

If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that I believe in what I do, and I'll say it.

So why are we having to fight in 2012 against politicians who want to end access to birth control? It's like we woke up in a bad episode of 'Mad Men.'