Speed reading expert gives tips on reading faster, says learning is your superpower

This article is part of Tech in Asia’s partnership with The Jay Kim Show where we publish the revised transcripts from the show’s podcast interviews with top entrepreneurs. This is heavily revised from the original show transcripts. For the full interview, go here.

Jim Kwik is a world-renowned expert in speed reading, memory improvement, and optimal brain performance.

He suffered a traumatic brain injury at five years old, so he struggled to keep up with his peers in reading and learning. He survived by learning a few strategies that dramatically enhanced his mental performance. Now, he coaches some of the world’s most famous actors, CEOs, and celebrities.

Here, Kwik shares some strategies you can use to improve your memory and brain performance right away.

Who are you and what do you do for a living?

“My name is Jim Kwik. I have a company called Kwik Learning and I help people to learn quickly.

“My mission is helping people to learn quicker and faster because I find that if there’s one skill to master in the twenty-first century, it’s the ability to learn rapidly.

“Primarily, I’m a personal trainer for your brain. Just like a personal trainer for your body makes your muscles stronger, faster, more agile, more flexible, younger, and stronger, that’s what I do for your mental muscles. So you could basically be a mental superhero.

“Everyone has this untapped genius inside of them and I love helping people to unleash it.”

Could you share with us your story?

“Absolutely. I’ll give you the quick version—pardon the pun.

“I think everybody has an origin story, and my inspiration really was my desperation.

“[…] I actually grew up with learning challenges, and a lot of people don’t know that. I had a very bad head injury […] when I was five years old, and it didn’t awaken some kind of genius superpower. If anything, I was slow. It took me more time to learn how to learn, understand things, focus, and concentrate. My memory was very bad in elementary school; it took me an extra three years just to learn how to read because it was so difficult.

“I actually taught myself how to read late at night by reading comic books because something about the superhero’s journey […] gave me hope.

“When I got to college, I thought I could start fresh. In actuality, I did worse […] and I was really hurting. A friend was like, ‘OK, I know you want to quit school, but before you do, why don’t you come home with me [to see my family] and just get some perspective before you tell your folks that you’re going to quit school?’ I was like, ‘OK.’

Do you have tips on retaining the information you read?

What are some strategies to be more present and aware and even retain names quickly?

How do you want to be remembered?