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Russian
00:00:00
- Imagine being able to pick up any book,00:00:02
read it, and remember
almost everything from it.00:00:04
This kind of superpower
memory recall might feel00:00:07
like fiction, but there are
people in the real world00:00:09
that seem to carry an incredible ability00:00:11
to hold on to information00:00:12
and I'm definitely not one of them.00:00:15
I've read hundreds of books,
blogs, and newsletters,00:00:18
but my ability to recall
any of it is terrible.00:00:21
So I decided to finally
look into this blind spot,00:00:23
to learn about how the smartest people00:00:25
in the world remember information00:00:27
and to uncover their systems
so I can use them for myself.00:00:30
This video is brought
to you by Squarespace,00:00:32
I'll talk more about
them later in the video.00:00:35
If I were to show you a non-fiction book00:00:36
that you've read over the past year,00:00:38
whether it was for school, work,00:00:40
or your own personal development,00:00:42
how likely are you to be able00:00:43
to remember five facts from the book?00:00:45
How well could you explain
the book to someone else?00:00:48
All right, let me give
this a try for myself.00:00:50
"Steal Like An Artist" being
creative means getting inspired00:00:54
by other people and you
should steal like an artist.00:00:58
It's really a book about-00:01:00
(lip trills)00:01:01
I just read this book so this
one's a little bit unfair.00:01:04
What else was it?00:01:05
What else was in this book?00:01:06
Great ideas are really simple and clear.00:01:09
I think that's all I got.00:01:10
I can't even remember one of the 48 laws.00:01:13
I just read it, I just read
this book like a month ago.00:01:16
There's not much of a point
of reading non-fiction books,00:01:19
particularly books about
personal development00:01:21
if you're not actually going to absorb00:01:23
and implement the insights,00:01:24
but remembering everything
might be a bit of a stretch00:01:27
for the average person.00:01:28
After some research, I
discovered that our ability00:01:30
to remember things varies
wildly from person to person.00:01:33
Some have terrible memories,
others exceptional,00:01:36
and even others have
photographic memories.00:01:40
As you might have guessed,
the average memory is00:01:42
body, messy, and often unreliable.00:01:44
It's easier for us to
remember events that provide00:01:46
a deviation from our
typical sensory experience.00:01:49
Like getting hit in the face with a ball,00:01:51
that interesting thing you
learned from that self-help book,00:01:53
not so much, but my question
is can we change that?00:01:57
I knew exactly who I needed to speak with.00:01:59
I read online that you've read00:02:00
over 3,000 books is that true?00:02:02
- I don't know, I think it's
probably bad form to count,00:02:06
you know, like with the romantic partners.00:02:09
- I don't know about you, but that number,00:02:11
well, it wouldn't take
me very long to add up.00:02:13
Ryan Holiday is the
international bestselling author00:02:16
of great books like "The
Obstacle Is the Way"00:02:18
and "Ego Is the Enemy" and
while I can't remember much00:02:21
of what I read in these books,00:02:22
I do remember them being really good.00:02:24
Ryan, thanks so much00:02:26
for being here.
- Of course. - [Matt] One of the things
that I was struck by00:02:28
when I first interviewed
Ryan back in 2019,00:02:31
was his memory recall.00:02:32
He pulled quotes and stories effortlessly00:02:34
from the books that he's
read over the years.00:02:36
- Eisenhower, he had this line, he said,00:02:37
"William James talked about this.00:02:39
I have a quote in the
intro from Blaise Pascal.00:02:41
Buddha and Marcus Aurelius
and Seneca and Confucius and-"00:02:45
- I seriously needed to know his secret.00:02:47
So I jumped on a video call
with him so we could get00:02:49
to the bottom of it.00:02:51
One of the main reasons why
I wanted to chat with you is00:02:53
because I have this problem
where I read a non-fiction book00:02:58
and then I completely
forget about everything.00:03:00
Like I can look at that book and be like,00:03:02
"I don't remember one or
two things from this book."00:03:05
How can we get better at
remembering what we read00:03:08
and putting into practice what we read?00:03:09
- First off, I'd be a
little kinder to yourself.00:03:12
Having one or two things
that you take from a book,00:03:16
if those are important things
that could change your life,00:03:19
you know, you paid $11 for
this book like is it so bad00:03:23
that you only got two life
changing things from it, right?00:03:27
So like I think sometimes people are like,00:03:29
"I don't have perfect recall of the book,"00:03:31
I mean, the book was supposed
to take you on a journey00:03:34
and leave you with something.00:03:35
I started in publishing
as a research assistant.00:03:39
I work for this amazing
author named Robert Greene00:03:42
and he showed me a way of reading00:03:44
that I practice to this day
that I think could be valuable,00:03:46
which is basically, as I read a book,00:03:48
I fold pages as I'm reading and
then I make notes to myself.00:03:53
I'm highlighting the
things that I'm liking00:03:55
and then what I do as a writer
because I want to use a lot00:03:58
of this information is I
then transfer the stuff00:04:01
that I really liked or
that really impacted me00:04:04
and I put them on note cards
and so I just write the thought00:04:07
that I had that it inspired
or I write down the story00:04:10
and then I sort those note cards by theme.00:04:13
So I'm kind of creating
like an exterior brain00:04:17
that organizes the stuff
that I took from the books.00:04:20
- So I decided to put
Ryan's system to the test00:04:22
and try it out for myself and
what better book to start with00:04:24
than "Courage Is Calling,"00:04:26
that's Ryan's latest book by the way.00:04:28
All right, so I've got my
tools here, highlighter, pen,00:04:32
my post-it bookmarks here,
and a stack of note cards00:04:36
and, of course, my book,
let's see how this works.00:04:41
So when you really break
down Ryan's system,00:04:43
there are three main parts.00:04:45
First, take notes while you read,00:04:47
second, revisit and revise your notes00:04:50
when you're finished with the book,00:04:51
and third, categorize and file your notes.00:04:54
The reason why this kind
of system is so effective00:04:56
at helping us retain more
of what we read comes down00:04:59
to how our brains process information.00:05:01
Over time, we've developed
a sorting process00:05:03
to help us determine what
information to hold onto00:05:05
in our explicit memory.00:05:07
That's the type of long
term memory that's concerned00:05:09
with recollection of facts and events.00:05:11
Thanks to what's known as
heuristic memory processing,00:05:14
we tend to prioritize information
that is frequently used,00:05:17
recently used, or likely to
be needed to make decisions.00:05:21
So becoming a better learner
is all about putting in00:05:23
the work, reading, taking notes, studying,00:05:25
and making use of the information
that you're taking in.00:05:28
In other words, having
a system like Ryan's00:05:30
and while Ryan said that he
enjoys audiobooks and eBooks,00:05:33
he thinks that there's an
advantage to going analog.00:05:35
- I do tend to find that
people who are like,00:05:39
"Oh, I listen to a lot of
audiobooks or I listen to-00:05:41
I read a lot of eBooks,"
the recall's not there.00:05:43
They're like, "I do my highlights,00:05:45
but they just go
somewhere on my computer."00:05:47
I think there is something
about getting away00:05:50
from the screen, sitting
down, and engaging deeply00:05:54
with the world in front of you.00:05:58
(gentle music)
(mug thuds)00:06:01
- All right, so I have
completely finished reading00:06:05
"Courage Is Calling" and I have taken00:06:07
extensive notes throughout.00:06:09
So I am a slow reader in
this process of taking00:06:12
thorough notes throughout the entire book,00:06:14
definitely slow me down even
more probably by 30 or 40%,00:06:18
but the idea is that hopefully,00:06:20
this will make these
memories and ideas just00:06:23
a little bit more sticky.00:06:25
Now, I need to go through this entire book00:06:27
and take all of my notes,
all of the best notes00:06:30
that I've taken and put them
down onto these note cards.00:06:34
So this video is sponsored by my friends00:06:36
over at Squarespace.00:06:37
I've been using Squarespace
for nearly a decade00:06:40
for one main reason, they
make it insanely easy for me00:06:44
to bring my ideas to life,
let me show you what I mean.00:06:46
Let's say that you've
got an idea for a website00:06:48
where you teach people how
to improve their memory.00:06:51
You start off by going to squarespace.com00:06:53
to grab your new domain name,
mattrememberseverything.com.00:06:57
Next, you browse through dozens00:06:58
of beautifully designed
templates to find the one00:07:00
that feels the most like you
and then the fun part begins.00:07:04
With a few clicks, you
can add a hero image00:07:06
to your homepage, you can
start your very own newsletter,00:07:09
and outline your core business offerings.00:07:11
You could even start doing online coaching00:07:13
and earn money through your
very own E-commerce store.00:07:16
You could call them Memory Mentorships.00:07:18
You know, that's actually
a really good idea,00:07:19
let me write that down.00:07:22
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a website or domain.00:07:40
When you support Squarespace
by clicking the link00:07:42
in the description down below this video,00:07:44
you're also supporting my channel
so thanks for considering.00:07:47
So now, that I've gotten
two thirds of the way00:07:49
into this note taking
experiment, it's become clear00:07:52
that this is a very slow
and methodical process.00:07:55
If you're anything like me,00:07:56
this can make you feel a bit antsy,00:07:58
but what I continue to remind
myself is that this isn't00:08:00
about becoming superhuman
and devouring books in a day.00:08:04
It's about taking the time
to digest the information,00:08:06
think critically about it, and
to try to find ways to reuse00:08:10
and repurpose what I'm learning
and really more importantly00:08:13
to actually enjoy the process.00:08:15
- Reading is a pleasurable
activity, I enjoy doing it00:08:18
and so you would never
hear someone be like,00:08:20
"Dude, I have the fastest sex00:08:22
you would not believe it," right?00:08:24
Or like, "You should see how
fast I can scarf down food00:08:27
at this fancy restaurant."00:08:29
I'm having a conversation
with Ernest Hemingway00:08:32
or Marcus Aurelius or
Doris Kearns Goodwin,00:08:34
these are like the best people
in the world at what they do.00:08:38
I wanna enjoy that like I'm
gonna take my time doing it.00:08:42
- So I have finished taking
the best ideas, note stories,00:08:46
and quotes from this book
and put them down onto00:08:48
about 20 to 30 note cards
and now, is the point00:08:51
in the process where I need to go through00:08:53
and organize all this.00:08:55
One thing that I've realized
from this process is00:08:57
that you don't remember
things by accident,00:09:00
which means I need to
systematize and organize00:09:03
all of these notes into
different buckets, categories,00:09:06
and themes.00:09:07
It's probably too early to tell00:09:09
whether this system will improve
my memory in the long run.00:09:12
I have a feeling I'm still gonna be00:09:13
on the goldfish end of the memory scale,00:09:15
but I've learned something
even more important00:09:17
over the past few weeks
of following this system.00:09:20
You actually can't remember
everything you want to,00:09:23
you just need to store
it outside of your brain.00:09:25
Oh, and if you're wondering00:09:26
whether I'll keep this up myself, maybe,00:09:28
but I don't know if it'll
look exactly like this.00:09:30
I don't know how many boxes
of note cards I can have00:09:32
at my place and still keep my sanity.00:09:35
How many boxes of note cards do you have?00:09:37
- Well, at least one for every single book00:09:38
that I've written, but I'm
looking I have one, two, three,00:09:41
four, five, six, I have
seven in my office right now.00:09:43
My system is an amalgamation
combination of Rob Greene's00:09:48
and yours can be your own spin on mine.00:09:51
- [Matt] Whether you decide
to follow an analog system00:09:53
like Ryan's or go digital,00:09:55
the important thing is
to just get started.00:09:57
- You're better off starting imperfectly00:10:00
than being paralyzed by the hope00:10:03
or the delusion of perfection.00:10:05
My system has evolved over the years,00:10:07
it will continue to evolve.00:10:09
Maybe there's some version in the future00:10:10
where it does become digital,00:10:12
but right now, this is what works for me00:10:13
and the main thing is
that I'm doing it always00:10:17
and I'm getting better as I go.00:10:19
- Thanks so much for watching this video,00:10:20
if you liked it, don't
forget to hit Subscribe00:10:22
and especially that
little Notification Bell00:10:24
so you get future videos from me00:10:26
that way you don't have to
work too hard to remember00:10:28
to watch my videos later.00:10:29
By the way, my exploration into memory00:10:31
and learning is only just beginning.00:10:33
Stay tuned in a couple weeks for new video00:10:35
about how to build a second brain00:10:36
by taking all the information we consume00:10:39
and putting it into an
intelligent digital system.00:10:41
- It's the complete ecosystem of apps00:10:44
that you use to manage information.00:10:45
- [Matt] Thanks for watching
and I'll catch you next time.Description:
Go to https://www.squarespace.com/mattdavella to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MATTDAVELLA. Thanks to Squarespace for sponsoring this video 🤘 🗣️ Things I mention in this video: (Some are affiliate links, all are genuine recommendations) Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday: https://www.amazon.com/Courage-Calling-Fortune-Favors-Brave/dp/0593191676?language=en_US 🤘 Where I get my music... Artlist: https://artlist.io/artlist-70446/?artlist_aid=MattDAvella_2005 Hi there 👋 If you're new to my videos my name is Matt D'Avella. I'm a documentary filmmaker, entrepreneur and YouTuber. I've made a couple documentaries for Netflix. I also teach courses on everything from filmmaking to habit change. If you like to nerd out about self-development as much as I do, you can subscribe for weekly videos. 🔗 LINKS Enroll in my habit's course: https://www.mattdavella.com/simplehabits Enroll in my YouTube course: https://www.mattdavella.com/masteryoutube Get my weekly newsletters: https://www.mattdavella.com/newsletter Follow me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/mattdavella Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mattdavella 🎬 CREDITS Directed by Matt D'Avella Produced by Matt D’Avella & Emma Norris Edited by Matt D’Avella & Spencer Torok
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