Before I “lost my brain,” I never thought much about it. It just seemed to do its job.

My dominant left-brain was pretty good at setting goals and strategies, analyzing and logic-ing everything (practically to death), and staying true to the task (come hell or high water). I can’t say that it was the most joyful brain… but damn. It got the job done.

That brain seemed to work well. Success-wise anyway. Until it didn’t.

Yup. I broke my brain. What does it feel like when you break your brain?

Dark. Grim. Scary. A mental state of never-ending, bottomless depression. While at the same time being physiologically stuck in a mode of severe fight-or-flight. An unabating, extreme, desperate, unable-to-catch-one’s-breath anxiety.

The combination of these two individually unbearable conditions can fry the brain. Think wet computer cord plugged into a faulty (non GFCI protected) outlet.

Which causes someone – beyond feeling depressed and anxious – to feel crazy. Bona fide crazy. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest crazy.

A word to the wise. You don’t want to break your brain. Take my word for it.

And it’s not just a destruction of wellth. A damaged brain also destroys wealth. One: you lose your money-making abilities (better hope you bought that disability coverage your insurance salesperson tried to sell you). Not to mention, it costs a small fortune to fix your brain (over six figures in my case).

During my personal plight to repair my defective brain, I remembered an amazing man – Jim Kwik – that I’d met in Turks and Caicos during a mastermind retreat. I recalled that he was a brain and memory coach. I looked him up. Then invested in his brain training program. Followed by some 1-1 coaching.

Through Jim and others, I’ve learned a lot about the brain since my “break.” Most importantly, I’ve learned that brains are fixable [Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity being the technical terms]. Given the right nutrients, environments, trauma therapy, and exercise (brain training), the delicate neurotransmitters can be made right again.

In case you’re wondering… My brain today is working better than ever. Because of the aforementioned. But also because I’ve worked to develop the right side of my brain. I rely less on my left brain – only tapping into it when I truly need a little logic and rationale. Otherwise, I prefer my right brain. Creating. Feeling. Meditating. Flowing. Ahhh. Such a better way to live.

I highly encourage you to listen to my podcast interview with Jim Kwik.

He is a highly sought after master who coaches many top celebrities, CEOs, and brainiacs in the world. Pretty important people like Richard Branson, Elon Musk, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Gates… just to name a few. I’m feeling pretty lucky to have gotten 90 minutes of his highly valuable time.

Click here to listen to Part 1 of my podcast interview with Jim Kwik…

If you wish to cut to the chase… here are my Top 5 takeaways from my conversation with Jim Kwik…

1. You can always strengthen your brain.

For some reason, many of us feel as though our intelligence becomes fixed at certain point in our lives. Or we feel as though our intelligence is limited by our education, background, age, so on and so forth. In reality, those beliefs are completely false! You can always strengthen your brain. And any person can do it.

Brain expert Jim Kwik has worked with everyone from children with learning disabilities to aging seniors. He’s worked with people with very limited education as well as with those with PhDs. And he’s seen monumental results with people from all walks of life. At the end of the day, your brain power is in your hands. You just need to be truly motivated, and you need to know how to find the right strategies that work for you.

2. If you don’t exercise your brain, you cripple it.

Before we all had cell phones attached to us at the hip, how many phone numbers did you have memorized? Back then, most of us had quite a few in our head, and we were always learning more. These days though, it’s just not a common practice. And it’s just one of many examples of how today’s society might be too easy on our brains.

Modern technology has made our lives much more convenient across the board. But this hyper-convenience limits our need to memorize, retain information, problem-solve, and more. When we exercise our brains, they get stronger! According to Jim, it’s the same reason why our brainpower tends to slow down after two key moments in our lives: 1) after our education, and 2) after retirement.

So you how do you get stronger?

3. Nutrition and novelty are the keys to supercharging your brain.

Exercising your brain is just like exercising your body. And what do you need to make your body stronger? There are two keys: 1) nutrition, and 2) novelty. You need nutritious food and exercise to improve your health. Same for your brain! And just like you need stimulus or else you’d get really bored, your brain also needs novelty. Go experience more. Stay curious. Try new things. Hell. Learn something! Money maybe? 🙂

4. Your brain is one of a kind.

On the whole, the mainstream education world is severely outdated. The biggest flaw is that it operates under a “one-size-fits-all” model where everybody is taught in the exact same way. In reality, each person needs to figure out how they learn best. The question to ask should not be “How smart are you?” but rather “How are you smart?”

There are several different kinds of intelligence. Some people are very encyclopedic and excel in the traditional education model. Others have bodily intelligence or musical intelligences – such as the world’s top athletes and performers. Some of the most successful people on the planet have tapped into their social intelligence and understand how to influence people.

The point is that nobody should feel discouraged if they have had difficulty learning in the past. You just need to hone in on how you are intelligent, and then, the sky’s the limit. There’s no genetic reason why anybody can’t constantly be learning new things. The power is in your hands. And if you want it, you can have it.

5. Brain power is the most important skill you can have in today’s world.

In the 21st Century, there is no skill more useful than learning. If you can read articles, books, or lessons 5 times faster than the average person – and retain that information – you inherently have an edge on those people. If you read and retain an entire book in one day, you’re officially downloading decades of somebody else’s wisdom in mere hours. That’s a big deal.

There’s an infinite amount of knowledge at our fingertips at any given time. Everybody is familiar with the phrase “knowledge is power.” But the truth is that knowledge is not only power. Knowledge is profit. The more we know, the more valuable we are in the workplace. The more valuable we are, the more opportunities there are available to us. And the more opportunities there are, the more money we make and freedom we achieve.

Click here to listen to Part 1 of my podcast interview with Jim Kwik…