Unlock Your Exceptional Life with Jim Kwik

0:01Light that spark fire nation JLD here and welcome to entrepreneurs on fire brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like Talking Too Loud. Today, we'll be breaking down how to unlock your exceptional life. To drop these value bombs, I brought Jim Quick into EO Fire Studios. Jim is an internationally acclaimed authority in the realm of brain optimization. From overcoming learning challenges after a childhood brain injury, he embarked on a journey with a mission to leave no brain behind. Through his teachings, he inspires others to unlock their innate genius, empowering them to live a life of greater power, productivity, and purpose.

0:39In today's foundation, we'll talk about harnessing human intelligence, nootropics, nutrition, and so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Jim and our sponsors. Hustle and Flowchart, hosted by Joe Feer, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Join Joe as he discusses systems, mindset tweaks, reframes, and strategies to help you build a business that gives you freedom and fuel for your life. A recent episode on using AI for effortless content creation is a must-listen. Listen to Hustle & Flowchart wherever you get your podcasts.

1:12NetSuite by Oracle brings accounting, finance, inventory, and HR into one proven platform, helping you reduce costs everywhere. Backed by popular demands, NetSuite has extended its one-of-a-kind flexible financing program for a few more weeks. Head to netsuite.com slash fire. Jim, say what's up to Fire Nation. and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. John Lee Dumas, it's good to be back. I think it's been five years. Seriously. It's good to hear your voice. Thank you everyone who's tuning in. I mean, one of the things that I don't think it's widely accepted is that our brain is not fixed like our shoe size.

1:58And what I mean by that is a lot of people think that they take an IQ test when they're eight years old, and that's their potential when they're 88 years old. But I believe that the brain is malleable, and it adapts through neuroplasticity, giving new stimulus, novelty, and proper nutrition. And so we could grow older, but in a lot of ways, we could grow better. So our focus is not fixed. Our memory is not fixed. Our ability to solve problems, our brain health and performance, it's not set in cement. It's actually very possible to be able to grow and adapt and get smarter, just like our bodies could get stronger.

2:41Fire Nation, you can tell why I brought Jim on the show. He's going to talk all about unlocking your exceptional life because it's right there for you. You just need to unlock it with the key. And Jim, we've all been hearing a lot about artificial intelligence. I mean, it's literally everywhere, but I want to talk right now about how we can harness artificial intelligence to boost human intelligence. There's a whole new chapter in Limitless Expanded where I talk about how to use AI to enhance HI. For me, it's not some artificial intelligence as it is augmented intelligence. and AI, towards my personal application for accelerated learning, can help us to learn better.

3:24It can adapt learning materials to our needs. It can remind us to review at the best times. It could even track our progress. It could measure our reading speed or reading comprehension. It could help us move from knowledge to wisdom much, much faster. So it's not always about learning more it's about learning more effectively and so you know our team uses ai we use it with coaching clients to let's say ai curated content curates learning content based on your personal interests your personal outcomes and goals so if you wanted to learn about you know neuroplasticity i could gather the most relevant recent reliable articles podcasts videos from the internet saves you time searching.

4:11There's also, besides AI curated content, AI could help drive personalized learning plans. What I mean by that, if you're studying Italian, for instance, AI could assess your current level and learning style and then structure lessons accordingly. It could start with basic grammar for a novice or jump straight to more conversational phrases if you have more experience. AI, another way to enhance learning is creating micro learning sessions. It could provide micro sessions. So for example, if you're learning to, I don't know, with your work, you need to code. An AI platform could break down complex concepts into smaller, more manageable chunks, send you, if you want, some kind of coding nugget each and every day.

5:03AI could schedule review reminders, as I mentioned. Part of learning faster is something called spaced repetition. And AI could help you to optimize your review schedules to remind you of past lessons at the best times for memory retention. Like maybe you want to review it an hour later, a day later, a week later, a month later. Even as a podcaster myself, sometimes if I'm interviewing an expert and I don't get their book in time, AI could summarize the book. I could go and ask AI to propose 10 questions that this expert hasn't been asked before, directed towards my specific audience. I use AI if people didn't understand what neuroplasticity is, then they could go into a chat GPT and say, explain to me neuroplasticity as if I am 12 years old.

5:58and it could give you some kind of baseline foundation. So again, technology is a wonderful tool for us to use and it can be used like, it's a tool, like fire was one of the earliest tools. Fire could cook your food or fire could burn down your home. I just feel like it's how it's applied. And so I'm very, very optimistic and excited about utilizing AI to enhance our human intelligence. Now, what I want to move into next, Jim, are nootropics and nutrition because these are really exciting categories. So first off, let's talk about what exactly nootropics are. I think most people understand nutrition.

6:39I mean the food you put in your body. But let's talk about specifically what nootropics are and the latest breakthroughs in these areas that are proving to enhance cognitive performance. So there's a whole area of science called neuro nutrition that we write and research about, basically saying that your brain is only 2 % of your body mass, but it requires 20 % of the nutrients. And some of those nutrients are different than the rest of your body. So brain nutrition is a little bit different than nootropics or nootropics. Everyone knows about taking omega-3 fatty acids, particularly DHA, the B vitamins, the magnesium, all those are things that could help support a good healthy brain.

7:22Nootropics are more substances that can enhance cognitive function, particularly executive functioning like focus, memory, creativity, even your motivation. So some of my favorite kind of go-to, some people have heard of these, some not, Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb. It improves mental and physical resilience. It may also reduce stress and anxiety, which could also improve your cognitive function. There's an ingredient I'm really excited about that I write about. Everything in the book, I talk about the human studies behind it. It's a whole coffee fruit extract. It's the whole fruit from the coffee plant.

8:08It's actually a byproduct that's discarded usually from a coffee plant, but it doesn't have any caffeine, but it's a very strong antioxidant, and it has positive impact on cognitive function. Another ingredient or nootropic is phosphatidylserine. Now, this is a phospholipid that is an integral part of your brain cell, like the membrane, and it's been shown to improve memory, learning, cognitive function. A few more that are kind of my go-to is L-theanine, which is an amino acid. It's often found in green tea. It's a very popular nootropic. It promotes relaxation without the drowsiness. and it has been shown to enhance brain function.

9:03Bacopa is something that I'm also very excited about when I was researching it. It's an herb used in Arabic medicine to improve cognition and memory. There's also something called rhodiola, which is a Scandinavian herb, has been shown to reduce mental fatigue and improve cognitive function. And some other ones, like there's a workout supplement called creatine that a lot of people who exercise use. It's found predominantly in meat and fish, and it plays a crucial role in energy metabolism. But there are a number of studies have been shown that creatine supplementation can improve cognitive function, especially in tasks that require short-term memory and very quick thinking.

9:53It actually helps you have more brain energy. I read a recent study where if you're a little sleep-deprived, creatine could also be supportive in helping you get through the day, even if you're a little bit lacking sleep. And then, I mean, I could go on. We list about 30 of them in the book. There's lion's mane mushroom. We hear a lot about that. People are mixing it with their coffee. It has kind of these unique neuroprotective effects. Research has shown that it stimulates the synthesis of something called nerve growth factor. And that would enhance cognition by reducing things like inflammation in the brain and promoting overall brain health.

10:36And of course, everyone knows about ginkgo biloba. It's long been used in traditional Chinese medicine to help stave off cognitive decline. What it does is it promotes good blood circulation in the brain, which means more oxygen to the brain. And it also has a neuroprotective effect from neuronal damage. We actually put the highlights and the studies in a document, brainnutrition.com. There's nothing to buy, but you could get the whole report of what I'm currently using and all the studies behind it. I actually do probably four to five Four Sigmatic instant coffees a day, which does have chaga and lime's mane.

11:21Now, to be fair, your average packets of the Four Sigmatic is about 40 milligrams of caffeine. So it's about like 30 to 40 percent of a normal cup of coffee. So it's probably only like equal to like two cups of coffee, but caffeine wise. But, you know, I really do love the Four Sigmatic for that Lions, Maine and Chaga kind of insert they have in there. So things to look at, Fire Nation. We have a lot more to talk about around this topic and more when we get back from thinking our sponsors. Every entrepreneur knows that growing a business is hard. Trying to figure out which software to use, when and for what purpose can be frustrating.

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14:55Jim, we are back and there are a lot of work settings these days. I mean, there is completely remote, there's hybrid, there's in office. Those would probably be the main three, but what are your favorite tools to become limitless no matter what our current work setting is. Yeah, there's a quote in Limitless Expanded that says, life is the letter C between the letters B and D, where B stands for birth, D stands for death, life C, choice. That, you know, it's a sum total, our lives are a sum total of all the choices we've made. And so whether or not you choose to work remotely or in an office or some form of hybrid certain things to think about to be able to maximize this is number one what I added in the new book is a new research I've done on what I call your cognitive type and understanding your specific brain dominance is very effective in knowing how you could perform how you're more productive and how you could have greater peace we've delineated there are four brain types and I pulled from personality types like Myers-Briggs, left brain, right brain theory, a visual auditory, kinesthetic, introvert, extrovert, multiple intelligence theory out of Harvard.

16:10And we created a quiz that's in the new book. It only takes four minutes to go through, but there are four brain animal types. And once you understand your brain animal, it can show you how to enhance your performance, whether you're working, again, remotely or in an office collaborative. If you just think about the word code, I use a lot of acronyms, your brain code, C-O-D-E. The C is the cheetah. and the primary trait of a cheetah is action. They love to act. They thrive in fast-paced environments. They're very quick to adapt. They have strong intuition. The O in code are your owls and their dominant trait where cheetahs have is action.

16:49Their owls dominant trait is logic. So these are people who love data. They love the numbers. They love facts and figures and formulas. was the D in code are your dolphins, and these are your creators. They have very strong imagination. They have a vision for their business or their brand that maybe other people can't yet see. They're very good at pattern recognition. And then finally, the E are your elephants, and their dominant trait is empathy. And these are your community builders. These are individuals that have high levels of empathy and compassion, very, very supportive. And it's interesting we had our team take this assessment and a hundred percent john of our customer experience team are are they're all elephants and it's we didn't hire them for that but it's interesting that these are the ones that have high empathy there are community builders they're serving and supporting making people feel understood and seen um our cfo when they took the the assessment it is an owl right this is our numbers guy our my business partner our ceo is the creative visionary the dolphin and so you see these animal types in uh in everything if you watch friends you know that that ross would be the scientist and he's the owl you know joey would be the fast acting cheetah monica would be the elephant loves to host everything bringing everyone together.

18:16Phoebe was the musician, artist, the creative dolphin, right? And then when you take the assessment, we give you protocol because it's just like there's personalized medicine based on your DNA or personalized nutrition based on your maybe an assessment like your microbiome. This is personalized learning. So you could actually learn how to read faster, communicate better, sell better based on your brain, animal type, and sister, Even parent better also as well, because once you understand your brain type and the type of the people around you, you could even hire. Like cheetahs valued efficiency results.

18:54They might lean towards hiring candidates to demonstrate initiative. They're adaptable. They're very decisive. But owls, they hire. They appreciate candidates who exhibit, let's say, strong analytical skills, whether it's remote or in office, the attention to detail, systematic approaches. Dolphins would be hiring, gravitating towards creative, visionary candidates. They appreciate individuals who think outside the box. Elephants would value candidates who are team players. Those show strong interpersonal skills that demonstrate high emotional intelligence. But it also affects their focus, whether they're working remotely or in office.

19:37Cheetahs, I recommend they use a Pomodoro technique where you work for 25-minute sprints and then take a five-minute brain break, but they love having a clear goal. Owls could enhance their focus at home or in an office because, since they're so logical, organizing their workspace, whether they're home or in an office, minimizing clutter, having structured plan for their tasks. and then dolphins could benefit by doing something like before starting a task they could mind map something they could benefit by organizing their thoughts visually and seeing the whole picture and how things are connected elephants you know they they would work better in a team environment especially you know in a group maybe they could replicate that virtually through zoom or something else, but elephants stay focused as they draw energy and social interactions.

20:30And so there's many different ways of applying your brain animal. We created a quiz at mybrainanimal.com. It takes four minutes, multiple choice, pick the ones, and then you get detailed PDF reports on how to apply towards reading, learning, leading, hiring, parenting, and so much more. Fire Nation, it's fascinating stuff. And Jim, I will say before our conversation, I took this assessment and knowing what you know about me, what would you guess I came back as? Oh, goodness. So this is interesting. I would guess you have traits. Everyone has traits, just like if you're right-handed, you're right dominant.

21:10It doesn't mean you don't use your left hand, right? So we're all a blend of these different things. What I've noticed about you over the years. You're very structured. You have owl tendencies. You're very creative because you are a creator. You have strong interpersonal skills like an elephant. If I was to guess, what your primary would be, would be a cheetah. That's my guess, but you're just a great implementer. Whether it's your primary or secondary, I would imagine you scored really strong in that because you act. A lot of people just have ideas, but you're a great implementer. It was my primary.

21:47I am the cheetah, an instinctive doer. Cheetahs are known for their speed and adaptability. People with a cheetah brain type are action-oriented and quick to make decisions. They thrive in dynamic environments and adapt easily to new situations. Cheetahs rely on their instincts and have a natural ability to navigate complex situations efficiently. They're often assertive, goal-driven, and passionate about achieving results. and so that definitely feels like mine and that's what it came back as. So very interesting. And how many animals are there total? There are four. Where I like doing it besides learning is really influence and persuasion.

22:22Like a cheetah salesperson would naturally be agile and adapt the pace of the client but if you're selling to a cheetah they appreciate directness, value efficiency, skipping the small talk, getting right to the point. But owls, if you're gonna influence an owl they want evidence, right? They appreciate well-researched presentations, statistics, case studies, examples. Dolphins, if you're influencing them to buy or negotiate or to invest, you speak to their vision. That's what dolphins, they love the stories. They show them how your offer fits into a larger picture or how it could pave a way towards future innovation.

22:58And with elephants, all that's nice, the facts and the presentations. But really, if you're selling to an elephant, they value relationships. They value rapport, trust. You spend time understanding their needs. You demonstrate that you genuinely care about their success and their family, whatever you have to sell them, and also give them amazing post-sale support. Fire Nation, interesting stuff, I will say. It was a very quick and easy assessment to take. So where would Fire Nation go, Jim, to take this assessment? The assessment's at mybrainanimal.com. Again, it takes four minutes. We're offering it free to your community there, and you'll get all the detailed reports and kind of personalized learning and leading based on your dominant brain type.

23:42People could share it and text it to their friends and see what your team is like, your spouse. And then we go deep in. There's a whole chapter dedicated and limitless expanded on the research behind it, and it also has the assessment there and much more. Jim, bring it home for us. what is the one thing you want to make sure Fire Nation gets from our conversation today? And what is your call to action for our listeners? My thing is going back to the power of choice, that everybody has a choice. And I really believe that if you're persistent, you could achieve it. But if you're consistent, you get to keep it.

24:16And consistency compounds because little by little, a little becomes a whole lot. So I truly believe taking from here, taking one simple action is the most powerful thing you could do that's a very cheetah quality like uh like like many of your listeners and so do something whether it happens to be taking this maybe a screenshot of the platform you're listening to and tagging john tagging myself and sharing maybe your brain animal yeah uh and that would be and then i'll repost you know some randomly and we'll gift a few copies of limitless to to your community randomly just as a thank you for for having on your show again and I just want to say to everybody, love the show, big fan and that there's a version of yourself or your brand or your business that's patiently waiting and the goal is we show up every single day until we're introduced.

25:10And next time you're in Puerto Rico, you will look me up. Absolutely, a thousand percent, buddy. Fire Nation, you're the average. Of the five people you spend the most time with, you've been hanging out with JK and JLD today so keep up that heat. For links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com, type Jim in the search bar, and the show notes page will pop right up. Jim, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Jim for sponsoring today's episode.

25:43And Fire Nation, what can 4 ,000 of the world's most successful entrepreneurs teach you? How about how to achieve financial freedom and fulfillment. My first traditionally published book, The Common Path to Uncommon Success, is a revolutionary 17-step roadmap that will lead you to the lifestyle you've been dreaming about. This book took me 10 years of accumulating the genius of the world's top entrepreneurs, and you can get it all in one place when you visit UncommonSuccessBook.com. I will catch you there or on the flippity-flip side. Hustle and Flowchart, hosted by Joe Feer, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals.

26:22Join Joe as he discusses systems, mindset tweaks, reframes, and strategies to help you build a business that gives you freedom and fuel for your life. A recent episode on using AI for effortless content creation is a must listen. Listen to Hustle and Flowchart wherever you get your podcasts. NetSuite by Oracle brings accounting, finance, inventory, and HR into one proven platform, helping you reduce costs everywhere. Backed by popular demands, NetSuite has extended its one-of-a-kind flexible financing program for a few more weeks, head to netsuites.com slash fire.