Digital Dementia, Biohacking, and Why Your Brain Is Your Biggest Wealth Asset | Jim Kwik

10:01Jim Kwik:You can mind map all the other things. You can create conversations like a podcast. You know, there's so many different ways you could summarize, you know, enormous amount of information for you to consume.

10:11Nicole Lapin:I did that actually when I was studying for the Series 65, which I passed last year.

10:15Jim Kwik:Congratulations.

10:16Nicole Lapin:And had it just act as my tutor.

10:18Jim Kwik:And I think that's what it is. Artificial intelligence, I think it's like more augmented intelligence. You know, augmentation, it's a partner for you. Like a creative partner, something to balance ideas for, something to do with some introspection, to ask you questions about what you're not seeing, you know, in terms of risk or downside. And they could point out your cognitive biases that you have.

10:38Nicole Lapin:If you tell it to not be sycophantic.

10:41Jim Kwik:That's a big challenge, right? where it placates to you and tells you what you want to hear. And that's where the human intelligence comes in, your own judgment, your own critical thinking, your ability to even be curious and ask different questions and prompts because it's those questions that are going to allow that to happen or not.

11:00Nicole Lapin:Because there's a dark side of it too, like the Flowers of Algernon vibes. And you've read, I don't even know how many books at this point.

11:07Jim Kwik:A lot.

11:09Nicole Lapin:Are we, how many? Have you counted? what's your book body count

11:16Jim Kwik:book count for four years i read a book a day so that's that's carry the one so yeah it's it's a good it's a good amount but i i think that i think readers are you know you read to succeed you know it's it's almost cliche you know how much like warren buffett the 500 pages and other individuals because the idea here is like the more you know, the better you know, the better you could do, right?

11:42Nicole Lapin:Yeah, but in the Flowers of Algernon ideas, like you become isolated too. Yeah. Or ostracized.

11:47Jim Kwik:By knowing too much. It's a curse. I just feel like self-improvement is good until it's not, you know, like it depends with motivating people because self-improvement can lead to, you know, self-rejection also, like you're not good enough and, you know, you're always looking at all your stats and And like, are they achieving to create this wealth to feel worthy or is being worthy, you know, is all this stuff and success more of an expression of them being worthy first?

12:17Nicole Lapin:Yeah. Are you happy because you whistle or do you whistle because you're happy?

12:21Jim Kwik:And I think both could be the case. Yeah.

12:24Nicole Lapin:What should we never be outsourcing to AI for our brain health? If someone's apartment or office is on the fourth floor, like an elevator is a piece of technology like AI.

12:36Jim Kwik:It's very convenient. But then we don't get the exercise. And if your brain is like a muscle, it's easier to lose it. You know, I think that's a challenge. So I feel like certainly use it for all these things. But I wouldn't not use our thinking or not use our remembering, you know, not use our own judgment. Because that would atrophy over time for sure.

12:56Nicole Lapin:What specific things can we use AI for to help with memory and cognition and focus?

13:04Jim Kwik:So I use it like even for our podcast. If I don't get someone's book in time, I'll ask it to give me some background information on the book. I didn't have a chance to read it to propose some interview questions that I never use verbatim, but it's it's sparked ideas. Maybe I didn't think about. I use it a lot to test myself. What I know, I don't know.

13:24Nicole Lapin:Listen, if Oprah is going to use Claude to ask for questions to interview Dario from Anthropoc, we all can.

13:31Jim Kwik:There you go. He can analyze questions that's been asked publicly and, you know, offer up some questions that maybe are unique, specific for a specific audience. Right. So I think that's where human intelligence comes in. Since everybody has access to AI, there's infinite amount of information. I think wisdom becomes more valuable in terms of the meaning behind that information. Like what's most important. be able to filter out misinformation.

13:55Nicole Lapin:Well, it becomes blurred because then you don't really know where the truth is at some point.

13:59Jim Kwik:And I think through experience, and I think that's what humans bring to something. But also, you know, when we're talking about human beings, I feel like what's neglecting an AI, as powerful as it is, it doesn't feel empathy. It could feign empathy artificially, but it doesn't know what it's like to be with somebody who had a breakup or to sit, you know, in the mud with somebody that's going through hard times. AI can do stuff in medicine, but it doesn't have a bedside manner that's there also. But I think emotional intelligence, I would lean into. I feel like understanding and meaning is very important.

14:32Jim Kwik:Critical thinking, because again, it can process a lot of data, but ultimately the person using it is determining what's important. I think it's also adaptability. I would lean into that a lot. Cognitive flexibility. like blockbuster didn't fail because it lacked intelligence it was rigid cognitively rigid kodak right kodak created the the backbone technology for digital photography but you know it wasn't flexible in their thinking i think one of ways of gauging someone's intelligence is their ability to change their mind based on new data you know as opposed to some cost or something you know, something that you're kind of committed to.

15:11Nicole Lapin:You say the new wealth gap, though, is going to happen not between rich and poor, but between those who can adapt and those who can't.

15:22Jim Kwik:It's no longer a knowledge gap because then it's those who have and those who don't have or those who know and don't know. Because those who know certainly can make better decisions than those who don't know what you know, right? You can make better decisions financially because you have such a wealth of information that you can make good decisions on, right? As opposed to someone who doesn't have that quality information or quantity information. But I also feel like human beings, our ultimate power is our ability to adapt. There are some animals that could fly, right? Some that could breathe underwater, some that are super fast.

15:52Jim Kwik:We're not any of those things, but human beings can adapt so we can fly using the power of our mind to create technology or we can go underwater or we can go super fast. The one constant in the world is change, right? I think like our ability to learn, to unlearn, to relearn is our greatest advantage in a world where we're drowning in information because everybody has access to all the information in the world now.

16:16Nicole Lapin:It's not information, it's action. But then what differentiates someone who makes$50 ,000 and someone who makes$5 million when everybody has the same access to information with AI?

16:29Jim Kwik:Yeah. And it's interesting that somebody could have access to AI and somebody could use it to make a social media post, another person could use AI to create the next billion dollar venture. It's what that human being, how smart they are bringing to that, that allows them to create that wealth, right? Because everything around us once started create wealth, even in terms of physical things, started in people's minds and their thinking, their ability to solve problems, their ability to innovate. Like Steve Jobs being creative, you look at a phone and it's like your computer and it's a camera it's a calculator and and all those things like the divergent thinking be able to like learn from other verticals like pattern recognition you learn something really great on negotiation and then asking yourself well how can i apply this to my relationship how can i apply this as a parent and all of a sudden you get a fourfold return on that information because you you have the wisdom of asking more questions and and it and it ends in application because you know that knowledge is not power until it's applied, right?

17:33Jim Kwik:And then it can be very profitable.

17:33Nicole Lapin:Hell yeah, that's what we talk about all the time. There's so many financial podcasts and books and all the things. And we started Private Wealth Collective because of that very pain point that knowledge is not enough. You actually have to take action. You actually have to put this into play.

17:48Jim Kwik:And I think two of the keys for that is for motivation. I feel like it's not something you have. It's something that we do. So it's not a noun, it's a verb. and it gives us our agency. So I feel like if somebody is stalling in applying what they learn from you or anybody, I think purpose is very important because I feel like if they don't have a reason, they don't get the reward or the result. They have to feel it, right? Just like people don't buy logically, they buy emotionally because we're emotional creatures.

18:16Nicole Lapin:Thanks, Daniel Kahneman.

18:17Jim Kwik:But if we don't feel something, we're not going to do it. And I feel like some people intellectually know they should do it, but they don't really feel it. meaning they don't feel the pain. They don't feel the consequence and the cost. It's not the price of something. It's the cost of not doing it, right? But if I thought about what motivates me, I'm like, who's counting on me to be at my best today or to make this decision? And I feel the heartbreak of not following through. Then I feel something. So I think purpose is important. But I also think people get stalled or stuck or they procrastinate, not because they don't feel it, because the thing's too big.

18:50And I feel like what's very important

18:52Jim Kwik:is to get people to make micro commitments, like to break it down.

18:56Nicole Lapin:Hello, that's why all my books are 12-step plans. I love that. Jam, because what's the best way to, I don't know, I don't like that, how to eat an elephant. Right. What's a better analogy than, why do we have to eat elephants here? Yeah. But the same idea of like one step at a time, one.

19:11Jim Kwik:Yeah, like with my, with our three-year-old, we're, don't teach him to floss. And it's like, probably me flossing on teeth might be a big step as an example, but flossing one tooth. You know, if someone wants to be a better reader and read all your many books, maybe they just, out of the habit, that's too big. But opening up the book is a small step. Reading one line is a small step. And no one's gonna stop at one line, right? And then what it does though, biologically, is when you take that small step, you get this molecule of dopamine, which is the molecule of motivation. I think there's a misnomer where people feel like, I have to be motivated to take action.

19:46Jim Kwik:No, you take a little bit of action, then you get the dopamine, which is the reward and encourages you to create more action which creates the momentum so as opposed to cheap dopamine which is social media social media junk food binge watching something you don't have to earn it there's no effort that's required and so you get the satisfaction of that hit that joy that comes from it but you didn't do anything it's like when people post like oh i'm gonna write a book on facebook right i see this all the time some some gold right and then everyone's like oh let's congratulate somebody and people get all this satisfaction.

20:19Jim Kwik:They don't even have to do it now because they just feel their cup is full because they got all this reinforcement, all these great neurochemicals just by staying there to do it. But they didn't actually do anything.

20:30Nicole Lapin:Well, how do you get a 42-year-old to floss?

20:33Jim Kwik:One tooth at a time. Which is good for your brain too. Your oral health is so good for your brain health. Inflammation, your microbiome, all that.

20:41Nicole Lapin:Okay. So for anyone listening who wants a Jim quick brain, what do you do for your brain health every day? Legit. Just legit.

20:50Jim Kwik:We've known each

20:50Nicole Lapin:other a long time. Don't bullshit me.

20:53Jim Kwik:I try to keep it simple nowadays, maybe just because I'm traveling and we have a, you know, a toddler and infants. So that's changed a lot. And I'm in, I'll be 53. So I try to keep it simple. Everything for me now, Nicole is like, if it doesn't, this is a quickism, but if it is the honest truth now, if it doesn't help me grow, glow or flow, I say no. So I'm very rigid and where I put my time and my attention. Like I'm here because I really want to be here and I can be present because I think we live in the age of attention. Like if you want to look at the map and pattern recognition of the highest achievers, they're very protective of their focus, you know, and includes their devices, obviously.

21:34Jim Kwik:I try to keep it simple. I do meditate once a day because my sleep is a little bit offset with the kids and travel. Isn't it interesting like when you pause something, Like you pause the computer or camera, it just stops working. But you pause yourself, I feel like we start working. I think we start recovering. We started rethinking things. We start recalibrating. So I think a pause is important throughout the day. Plus, you know, it helps you reduce a little stress. Movement, really simple.

22:01Nicole Lapin:Never regret a pause or a workout.

22:04Jim Kwik:Yeah, never.

22:05Nicole Lapin:After you do it.

22:06Jim Kwik:And that's why it's better, well, you know, well done than well said. you know, because you practice what you post, right? Like, like, you're all your great content is things that you've you've learned and you're sharing with so many people. And that's that's wisdom for me. Like, I'd rather learn it for somebody who's an expert at something because that I mean, making mistakes costs a lot of time, money, reputation.

22:29Nicole Lapin:But do you really practice what you post?

22:31Jim Kwik:Do I?

22:32Nicole Lapin:Do you?

22:33Jim Kwik:I do.

22:33Nicole Lapin:Real talk.

22:34Jim Kwik:Real talk.

22:35Nicole Lapin:Okay.

22:35Jim Kwik:So I exercise. I do my diet. I mean, every once in a while, I was sweet and stuff. I I just, I stopped alcohol. I used to drink like every so often here or there, but I didn't like how I felt the next day overall. So it's just easier for me. It's not, it's probably not very popular, but, and sleep.

22:54Nicole Lapin:Everyone's obsessed with biohacking. Yeah. You're a rich dude. You have access to all sorts of shots and peptides and all sorts of stuff. What are you taking? What are you using? What are the best biohacking strategies out there? All right.

23:11Jim Kwik:So what I was recalling was my acronym MEDS. So meditation, exercise, diet, sleep. If we're going to add two to it, RX, the X are the extras, the biohacking. But I would put that last because I think a lot of biohacking stuff out there just models nature. Like PMF, pulse electromagnetic field therapy, which is an electron transfer. You get that by walking barefoot. Cheap. No cost. You know, red light. You get similar effects from sunlight. you don't have to buy the pole mount i i have all this stuff it's just it just it costs money it costs time to go into a hyperbaric chamber or a float tank or you know a sauna it just it just takes time which there's a lot of benefits that come from from all these things but i think we can't do like everything especially when i like travel my my morning routine has changed so much since kids like it's 12 minutes long it used to be like two hours but now it's just i go outside I finished Limitless when I was in Athens because there was a goddess of memory and memory is the big focus of it.

24:11Jim Kwik:And in ancient Babylonian times and Greek times, everyone believed everything was made of four things, four elements, fire, earth, water, and air. So that's all I want to do. My morning routine really is with my son, our three-year-old. We go outside barefoot and get earth. We get sunlight, which your eyes are the only part of your brain that helps to reset your circadian rhythm, obviously better at night, not through a window, but outside, even if it's foggy um the so the fire that's fires the sunlight um i teach him some very easy breathing exercises and i love it like he closes his eyes looks so cute he breathes through his nose and the long exhale which is help you kind of relax and that's air and then we drink some water put a little electrolytes you know into it and so i got i got four elements in 12 minutes and i'm you know i'm good to go i did that this morning you know as i'm traveling you know because I didn't have access to red light panels and hard hyperbaric chambers.

25:08Jim Kwik:But if you could use that as an advantage, that's great. But I still think the foundational stuff is important. It's all free, right? Meditation, exercise, sleep.

25:15Nicole Lapin:So let's rate them. Let's do a quick lightning round of some brain hacks and rate them one to 10.

25:21Jim Kwik:Oh, fun. Okay, reading. That's gotta be a nine for me. I'd rather go a day without eating than a day without reading. Honest to God, truth. Because I think once you start seeing yourself as a reader, like an identity, it's just what you are. Then I just.

25:35Nicole Lapin:That's key. That also works with finance too. When you start calling yourself an investor.

25:40Jim Kwik:Yeah.

25:40Nicole Lapin:Versus I just invest. You have more identity with it.

25:43Jim Kwik:It feels different.

25:44Nicole Lapin:Does it matter if it's a physical book?

25:46Jim Kwik:When I travel, I'll read on a screen. It's only because I can't, I don't want to carry four extra books in my carry-on. But I would always prefer physical books, even over audio books. And I do listen to audio books. When people are tested, people tend to read, comprehend and retain information better when they're reading physical books than audio books. And I love audio. We have audio books and podcasts and everything. But I think when people are listening to audio, they're doing something else, right? They're driving, they're working out, they're distracted. So they're not going to retain as much.

26:16Jim Kwik:But if I do listen to audio books, do you listen at a faster speed? Yeah.

26:20Nicole Lapin:1.3.

26:21Jim Kwik:Yeah. I have to do that. Yeah. Pick up the pace, guys.

26:26Nicole Lapin:Even to myself. My husband listens to my podcast, I think, very fast. Consistent bedtime and wake time. One to ten.

26:34Jim Kwik:Oh my goodness. Your brain loves the rhythm, even on weekends. Nobody gets this perfect. But I think having an alarm to wake up, as most people have, but having an alarm to go to phase down, I think that's important. It'll help your overall quality of sleep over time. No doubt. Meditation. Meditation, maybe a six, definitely more than the halfway point. But it's not my non-negotiable, depending on how well I slept that night.

27:04Nicole Lapin:Cold plunge.

27:05Jim Kwik:I personally like it, but I think for most people, it's closer to a three. Because it wakes me up more than coffee. And I like doing hard things. For me, it's more of a deliberate discomfort. So because I feel like I get myself to do that. I get myself to make those sales calls or anything else like that. but I like saunas a lot more than both cold lunch.

27:24Nicole Lapin:So sauna?

27:25Jim Kwik:Sauna, I would put it up there as a nine. I mean, all case - For brain health? All case mortality, it goes down like 40%, you know, beyond regular usage. I don't know the difference between like an infrared sauna or a, I like traditional saunas because it gets hotter than an infrared sauna only gets about like 140 something degrees. And I'm very heat adapted, but we built out a traditional sauna and put red lights inside. So I'm just like -

27:50Nicole Lapin:You hacked it. All right. Walking 10 ,000 steps a day.

27:54Jim Kwik:Walking is huge for the brain. I'll give that a 10. Yeah. That's your first 10. Yeah. I would honestly, like I was walking this morning just because it helps me think. I also think it's important that side benefits of being in nature is huge, which we discount. So I'll take the dogs for a walk each morning. But your body needs to move. And there's so many benefits to walking for your brain and otherwise, no doubt.

28:17Nicole Lapin:Jigsaw puzzles.

28:20Jim Kwik:No, I mean two. Like there's so many other things you could do.

28:25Nicole Lapin:Wordle.

28:27Jim Kwik:Two or three. Like I don't, even Luminosity, like all these other titles, I don't want to name brand names, but a lot of them have been kind of debunked. And I like Sudoku and I like, I like challenge myself intellectually, but I rather have discourse and conversation with somebody like this or others that are reading. Or there's, I feel like more engaging for me, at least the way I read or I teach people how to read. Ballroom dancing. uh racket sports there's so many like so many things you could do as activities or hobbies and but i i i like it better than not doing anything what about socializing socializing huge 10 and i'm an introvert you know this like you can't get me out of like yeah i i don't have fomo i have i have jomo i do i have jomo too yeah i just extroverted introvert I can't do it.

29:16Jim Kwik:But I would say that's the R in meds are X. It says meditation, exercise, diets, sleep. X are the biohacking extras, the R's relationships. By far, people are isolated and lonely. Their brain really suffers, not just brain health but mental health. And when we socialize, that's what we're meant to do is to connect. And so it's not just these brain networks, it's your social networks. I have to do more of that. You and me both.

29:45Nicole Lapin:It's hard to motivate when you're really in the hole because you know that's going to make you feel better.

29:50Jim Kwik:Yeah. Human beings are social creatures, 100%.

29:54Nicole Lapin:To-do lists.

29:55Jim Kwik:For me, I don't think we get through our to-do lists. And I think also it's not about managing your time with all the things you need to do. I think it's managing your priorities. What's most important on that list that can make everything else easier. I'd focus on the three things that would make you feel like you won that day or the lead dominoes that make everything else easier in your life. But if there's something that people are putting off over and over again, I really do believe that if we're talking about wealth, that often the wealth that we're seeking is hidden things we're scared to take on or to do that we're putting off for whatever fear of failure, fear of success and self-worth or whatever it is.

30:35Jim Kwik:It's hard to outperform your self-image. I feel like we don't always hit our goals, but we fall to the level of our standards our systems, our stories, and our self-image. Like, I feel like that's where it's at. And we control all those things.

30:52Nicole Lapin:So if we work on our brain health, will we become more wealthy?

30:56Jim Kwik:A hundred percent. Because if you can focus better, if you can remember better, if you can learn faster, you can make better decisions. You have more wherewithal and endurance, you know, during when other people are doing their trading or whatever they happen to be doing. When other people are under pressure, you can manage your states. like all that's an amplifier. Like it's just like if somebody's more physically fit, they're just stronger and more flexible and faster. They're just gonna endure just life better.

31:24Nicole Lapin:You've coached billionaires and athletes and world leaders and all the people who are quite wealthy in the traditional sense. Is there a characteristic or a brain hack that they've used to unlock more wealth?

31:39Jim Kwik:they're avid learners and growers. They do the work, right? When no one else is looking. And maybe it's not reading, but it's something. They are pouring themselves into something that they are excited about and they always want to grow. And the only easy day was yesterday. I really do think they push themselves. And it's hard, right? Like new things, they're scary. And growth is hard. Growing a business, growing yourself, growing whatever. But I just want to remind people, like nothing is as scary as hard as being stuck, like where you don't belong. And I think most people, if they're healthy, they want to be more, do more, have more, share more with others.

32:20So I feel like they're very growth-oriented

32:23Jim Kwik:and also they bounce back better. Like even golf, right? It's a good metaphor for life and I'll play a lot of golf, but I feel like people take what happened on hole three and they take it to hole 18. You know what I mean? They made a mistake there and it stays with them. And I'm sure people do that in business. They take a loss. But I think...

32:40Nicole Lapin:How do you shake it off? Yeah.

32:42Jim Kwik:So I think state regulation, be able to manage your state. And whatever it happens to be, people have certain ways of reducing their stress, kind of rebalancing. Whether it's a breathing or it's a mantra or it's tapping or it's some song or whatever or saying in their head.

32:59Nicole Lapin:Let me tell you how I do it with my 18-month-old daughter.

33:02Jim Kwik:Okay.

33:03Nicole Lapin:She shakes it off by this thing that I bought on Amazon called 30 Second Dance Party. They do not sponsor us, by the way. They are more than welcome to sponsor us. But you push a button and there's music that plays for 30 seconds. And whenever she starts crying or has a little tantrum or things get stressful or rough, I just push the button and we all start dancing for 30 seconds.

33:27Jim Kwik:That's amazing. That's genius.

33:28Nicole Lapin:How you shake off.

33:29Jim Kwik:And music is such a great way of changing how you feel. Yeah, I think I think the best investments I've made. Yeah, I think athletes have something physical, like they'll bounce the ball every single time. They'll have a routine that gets them back focused, like the bounce the ball three times or they'll they'll do some kind of ritual that kind of that takes a second or two that other people necessarily notice. But it helps get them back in the game and present.

33:54Nicole Lapin:You also work with people who just want to read more or improve their brain health. Have you seen that impact their financial health as well?

34:02Jim Kwik:No doubt, because our financial situation or condition is a reflection, again, of how you feel and how you think and what you decide to do. So I feel like managing how we feel is very important. And it's sometimes we don't, we react and we all react to the economy or how clients treat us or whatever. Right. But I also feel that to the degree we could own and be responsible for how we feel. Not that we don't get thrown off tilts by bad news or other people's expectations or opinions. But I feel like those standards of how we are with other people is very important. And I'm not saying it's easy, right?

34:40Jim Kwik:Like something can be simple, but not easy. So I think with practice, like anything, it gets a little bit easier. But yeah, I mean, like they say, like the metaphor of a storm. like some storms you can only learn some things in a storm or some storms come to clear paths and people say I had the storm but I feel like we're like the atmosphere and we could just kind of watch people's opinions or storms kind of you know pass by and not kind of disassociate a little bit but I don't know like how do you get out of a bad state besides your your dance party I really

35:11Nicole Lapin:am I'm so bullish on the 30 second dance party yeah because I also feel like if people are in

35:17Jim Kwik:survival mode or in their bad, like they're not gonna make good decisions, right? Because they're in the survival brain and they're held hostage from like their intelligence, like their ability to judge something or ability to solve problems. Like, like, you know, when they say when you're angry, don't send that email or that text.

35:31Nicole Lapin:Hungry, angry. I think it's halt, right? Hungry, angry, lonely or tired.

35:36Jim Kwik:Oh, I like that. I like acronyms.

35:37Nicole Lapin:You love acronyms. I really do.

35:40Jim Kwik:You love I'm like, I'm like trying not to give out.

35:43Nicole Lapin:I told him before we started, I was like, you gotta the layoff, the gym.

35:47Jim Kwik:But all those things, like all those things when you are hungry or angry, right? Lonely or tired, whatever. It's like you're not going to make great decisions, you know, and then you regret. And so I feel like before we do anything, we have to compose ourselves before we're with a client or a potential client or our kids because they deserve that, right? Because then more of us is going to show up because when we're like on tilt, like we're never making good decisions.

36:12Nicole Lapin:Is there an easy way that you jump out of fight, flight? Is there an easy way to snap out of fight, flight, freeze? You know, any of the F word reactions that you have to what's perceived as crisis?

36:26Jim Kwik:Yeah, I mean, if I can and it's appropriate, I would be moving my body. And maybe that's not a dance, but I think that's the fastest way of changing your mood personally. I mean, even putting a smile on your face kind of changes things and kind of fools you into thinking like something else. Yeah, there's one company that makes customer service people smile before answering a phone call. Interesting.

36:51Nicole Lapin:It just changes your physiology.

36:53Jim Kwik:I think also psychologically, you could ask yourself another question. Like, what else can this mean? Get curious. Like, if you're angry at somebody, it's not easy. But if you condition yourself saying, get curious instead. Like, I wonder what they're going through. You know, I wonder what's happening in that person's life. Because we all probably know that everyone's fighting a battle that other people can't see, right? Always be yourself, right? But unless you're a jerk, don't be that person. But I think some people are that way and it is what it is.

37:18Nicole Lapin:Important advice.

37:19Jim Kwik:Yeah, that's the best advice out of that. But I do think that if you train yourself to ask, get curious. And then I think it opens up to new possibilities. And then I don't get angry as much. Like if I'm curious, like I wonder why they are like what they're going through or what happened to them or, you know, what their what their real intention is and whatever happens to me.

37:40Nicole Lapin:I think of it as the birthday cake theory that I've just come up with. So instead of getting mad at somebody that's an annoying driver, I think, huh, do they have a birthday cake in the backseat that they're bringing home for their three year old for, you know, their celebration? And that's why they're driving so cautiously. Maybe they just don't want to tip over the birthday cake. Yeah. I don't know. I'm just coming up with the best case scenario for why.

38:11Jim Kwik:So what happens if someone's like going really, really fast and passing you or cutting you off?

38:15Nicole Lapin:The drive from my house in the Palisades, may it rest in peace, to the hospital when I was in labor was the craziest drive ever. I was screaming. I don't know what my husband was navigating, like rush hour down sunset to get us to Cedars. So I have no idea what people might have been thinking. But yeah, I was going through crazy labor where I was screaming and basically ripped out the seatbelt. So I don't know. Maybe the person that's driving crazy is taking their wife to the hospital to have their baby.

38:46Jim Kwik:I like that. And it makes you feel that I even feel in the air. It just feels different. Land's different when you said that. It's probably not true, but it's like it's better than being angry and road rage and whatever comes out of that. I find that when people are driving, that if someone's slow, then they're just like people call them stupid. But if they're fast, they're just reckless, right? Like we're always the perfect driver.

39:07Nicole Lapin:If they're slow, they have a birthday cake in their backseat. If they're fast, they're taking their life to the maternity ward, which we did not find even though we took a tour of the hospital. We went to the emergency room instead because in that moment, you absolutely forget. And that's what I'm saying.

39:24Jim Kwik:Like when people are, when they're in an agitated state, they forget things. They make, you know, they don't see, they don't, they don't see as perceived as clearly. That's wild.

39:33Nicole Lapin:And so how do you as a self-professed introvert, and I am as well, even though some people get really surprised by that, I'm an extroverted introvert, how do you motivate yourself to come out, do podcasts, do book tours, do speaking, go speak at all of these big, make zillions of dollars speaking?

39:53Jim Kwik:I would say, going back to the purpose and the energy and the small, simple steps, I really live this. I feel a moral obligation to do what I do. I can think of other ways of making money, but it's just, I haven't deviated this in 34 years. So I really feel the suffering because of how I struggle with these areas and I feel in other people. And I have too many references and evidence like you do of people who are benefited from it. And I feel like they came out there and I need to show up for them. And that gets me on stage, even if I have butterflies or anything else like that. Some people could do little mental tricks and reframe fear and physiologically is the same as excitement and use the word excited instead of scared and stuff like that.

40:34Jim Kwik:And certainly that helps to reframe and give you some cognitive distance from what's going on in your body. But I focus on the individual. My trick is I focus on specifically one person that I make sure I talk to before I go on stage. So I feel a connection with that person.

40:49Nicole Lapin:You talk to one person from the audience or you talk to one person on the...

40:53Jim Kwik:No, from the audience. Generally, before I go on stage, I'll have met one or two people. I'll search for them. And then even if I don't, I'll just hallucinate that I do. But I don't do tricks and picture them naked or something like that. That doesn't really work for me. But I think about how can I serve this person while I'm here? And then I break it down in small, simple steps. I have a little ritual before I go on stage. But if it's a party and everything else, I want to see people. But I'm just better one-on-one or small groups or small little dinners that I put together.

41:21Nicole Lapin:I like your dinners.

41:23Jim Kwik:Yeah.

41:23Nicole Lapin:I haven't gotten an invite recently.

41:27Jim Kwik:It's coming. Thank you. But I do love people. It's just for me, it's depleting. And I just need my time. I think an introvert is really an energy thing. I feel like it's less personality. I feel like I just need time to recharge so I could be better for people. How do you do it? Or are you just... Because I'm surprised also when you first told me that you're more introverted or ambivert I think is the word like...

41:54Nicole Lapin:Is that what it is?

41:55Jim Kwik:Ambivert is like a mix. It's like you're mostly introverted, but then you can be more extroverted.

42:01Nicole Lapin:Yeah, I think it does go down to purpose. you know i feel like a lot of responsibility to show up and do the thing and i think there's a self-fulfilling prophecy once you just start doing it yeah you're into it oh i love it and you act as

42:15Jim Kwik:if so you fake it till you make or you face it till you make it until you make it i like it yeah i i think human connection is very important to see and the other thing is a lot of people are around a lot of people but they still feel lonely and disconnected so i think that's i i think there is social wealth you know the whole thing where like your your network is your net worth or whatever like i i i can track most of my business more than half of it to like five people and who are those five people people that i met through people and yeah that they're like a nexus there's certain people kind of like tipping point you know there's certain connectors and mavens that are connected to other individuals because you're you're connected like to everybody or one degree.

42:56Nicole Lapin:Who are those five people? We'll bleep it out. I want to know.

42:59Jim Kwik:They're not anything special, but they're special to me in terms of my impact and then they're very generous and, you know, like just in terms of connections and introductions. I like connecting people.

43:08Nicole Lapin:But with you, I feel like everybody wants you to do a party trick and I almost wanted you to do one too, like a memory party trick.

43:16Jim Kwik:Okay.

43:17Nicole Lapin:Does that get annoying? Where people are like, remember Pi, you know, recite Pi or like,

43:23Jim Kwik:what's my phone number or it would be the same or you know or a magician saying you know but whatever or comedian tell me a joke or i'm sure you're not annoyed by it no i i mean i don't think the best like even i stopped doing it on demos on stage because it takes like 10 minutes to do these things and because i'd rather spend the time you know connecting and sharing and teaching

43:45Nicole Lapin:what what the effect is but once you become this master memory man that you are is it hard to turn it off? Like, do you know my phone number by heart?

43:55Jim Kwik:I don't want to memorize 5 ,000 phone numbers. I mean, it should be concerning if we've lost the ability to remember a phone number or pin number or seed phrase or something we just heard or read or whatever. I think those memory lapses could hurt us in business. Two months ago, I was in Miami speaking at an event, memory training, and somebody came to me in the hallway and he was like really disheveled. He's like, I wish I met you like weeks earlier. This guy's in commercial real estate. He lost a$50 million dollar deal 50 million dollars because he called this client the wrong name twice and he said like so besides the financial impact he just felt like the embarrassment what everything that came

44:33Nicole Lapin:from it but yeah don't forget somebody's name it could lose you yeah i mean do people like

44:38Jim Kwik:at social situations put you on the spot and saying like hey i had this moment no please sometimes yeah but not in the same way i think also like what i'm spending time researching now was like this identity shifts because i think like i work in military you know coming back back and you know finding who are they after they spend so much time or sports figures who retire because they're not all of you know like a tom brady or an a-rod or whoever right in skill acquisition and do all this stuff i'm interested with ai because i feel like when people's jobs are threatened like who are they you know they spend all this time studying law or visual design or whatever it is.

45:18Jim Kwik:And if a machine could do a similar job 24 seven, like, you know, who's so many people identify with what they do is my point. So I feel there's an identity crisis that goes on with technology, not just the loss of work, it's the loss of who am I?

45:35Nicole Lapin:We end our episodes, as you know, by now, since you've been here three times by asking all of I guess for a tip that listeners can take straight to the bank. What's one hack that you haven't mentioned that can help listeners with their net worth, with their wealth?

45:54Jim Kwik:Yeah. So beyond the remember names and read every day and all that stuff, right? I spent the past two years researching a new book. So that's a soft plug. Limitless I wrote in six weeks, which is kind of crazy, but I had like 30 years of just like get it out of my head. And Limitless Daily, I wrote, you write in the morning? Do you have like a process or have it like?

46:18Nicole Lapin:Sometimes gratitude journal.

46:20Jim Kwik:Yeah. So I do gratitude or something like that, like every single morning for years, like 12 years. Right. I was right. Just that gets stuff out of my head or what I'm going to do that day or whatever. So my daughter came early. My wife's water broke when she was cooking Thanksgiving. So we had that same rush to the hospital. Like totally get that done. Totally unplanned. House full of people and like all that. um in the in the hospital i had my journal with me guys carry with me and i started writing but instead writing what i normally write about pocket whatever happens in my mind i started writing um emotional uh i started writing a note to her and um and it was wasn't for her now obviously she's not a reader yet but she's gonna be a fantastic reader um but for when she's older and specifically it was like, if I'm not here, how to deal with a hard day.

47:12Jim Kwik:And I consistently did that every single day. So it took me a year to write Limitless daily. It's like daily stoic, but instead of pulling on stoicism, it's one thing that teaches you something that will help you get through the things that I was going through, whether it's frustration or procrastination or fear of failure, imposter syndrome or burnout, like all the topics. And it's science-based psychology, like science of the mind, psychology, I reference, or science of the brain, neuroscience. And then it has like one little thing you could do, like that small, simple step in one minute. And then a little affirmation to affirm like you are this person, right?

47:47Jim Kwik:And I put it all together. So it took a year to write this book, which seems like a long time. But I wanted my son and my daughter to read it when, you know, when they're old enough. I wasn't here that it would give them some guidance. and it's not AI, you know, of things that really can work. And the idea, actually, here's the hack. So when I was doing research for when to read a book, it's not just what you read, it's when you read. So when you first wake up, there's something called sleep inertia. And sleep inertia is transitioning from sleep to awake. And certain parts of you come online, your awareness, your alertness, your attention, all this.

48:23Jim Kwik:And your working memory is empty. So it's an empty cup. You haven't filled it yet. This is prime time. So it's called intentional priming. Intentional priming states that the mental input you put in that small window has a disproportionate effect on the rest of your day. Specifically on what you focus on, how you feel, and how you frame the day. Situations during the day. Isn't that wild? And so that time is high leverage. And most people, what do they fill that time with? Phone.

48:49Nicole Lapin:Their phone.

48:50Jim Kwik:And so what are they priming? Their focus, their feelings, and their frame of the day. Like doom scrolling, comparison, depression, you know, distraction, reaction, all that stuff, right? You get a message on your phone and then for the next few hours, you're just like on tilt. So I want people to read this book for a thing. So we created a 366-day challenge and we all do it together. It's free and it's just like every single day we build out. And I'm so proud of this work. Yeah, it's special. And I haven't talked about it before. So this is, yeah.

49:21Nicole Lapin:I feel special. you are special thank you thanks Jim