Dominic OBrien - You Can Have an Amazing Memory: Learn Life-Changing Techniques and Tips from the Memory Maestro

Dominic OBrien is renowned for his phenomenal feats of memory and for
outwitting the casinos of Las Vegas at the blackjack tables, resulting in a
ban. In addition to winning the World Memory Championships eight times,
he was named the Brain Trust of Great Britains Brain of the Year in 1994
and Grandmaster of Memory in 1995. He has made numerous appearances
on TV and radio and holds a host of world records, including one for
memorizing 2,385 random binary digits in 30 minutes. In 2005 he was given
a lifetime achievement award by the World Memory Championships
International in recognition of his work to promote the art of memory all
over the world; and in 2010 he became the General Manager of the World
Memory Sports Council.

By the same author (all published by Duncan Baird Publishers)

How to Develop a Brilliant Memory: Week by Week
How to Pass Exams
Learn to Remember
Never Forget: A Name or Face
Never Forget: A Number or Date

This edition published in the UK in 2011 by
Watkins Publishing, Sixth Floor, Castle House,
7576 Wells Street, London W1T 3QH

Copyright Watkins Publishing 2011
Text copyright Dominic OBrien 2011
Illustrations copyright Watkins Publishing 2011

Dominic OBrien has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

Mind Maps is a registered trade mark of Tony Buzan in the UK and USA. For further information visit www.thinkbuzan.com.

All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without prior permission in writing from the Publishers.

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Designed and typeset by Luana Gobbo Edited by Judy Barratt

Printed and bound in India by Imago

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication data available

ISBN: 978-1-78028-206-0

www.watkinspublishing.co.uk

CONTENTS

The mind is like a trunk: if well-packed, it holds almost every thing; if ill-packed, next to nothing.

Augustus William Hare and Julius Charles HareGuesses at Truth, by Two Brothers, 1827

As a child I was diagnosed with dyslexia and I was told by my form teacher at school that I would not amount to much in life. In fact, throughout my school days, no one held out much hope for me. Certainly, no one entertained the thought that one day Id appear in the Guinness World Records book for what others have described as a feat of staggering brain power, or that Id become World Memory Champion, not just once but eight times over! Here are some of the comments from my school reports when I was aged ten they make unhappy reading:

He tends to dream in the middle of a calculation, which leads him to lose track of the thought.

[Dominic] has not paid much attention. Appears to know more of the Universe than the Earth.

Terribly slow. Often cannot repeat the question. Must concentrate.

Unless Dominic really shakes himself up and gets down to work, he is not going to achieve any success he is painfully slow.

Although they might sound harsh, these reports paint a fairly accurate picture of my state of mind as a child. I felt as though my brain was like a muscle that was permanently relaxed. My teachers knew it, and they were endlessly frustrated with me. In those days, teachers werent governed by quite the same codes of conduct they are today, and one in particular behaved appallingly toward me shaking me, shouting at me and generally humiliating me in front of my friends. I guess he hoped to bring me out of my apparent stupor.

Needless to say, I became highly stressed about going to school. In fact, I was completely terrified. By the age of 11, I hated it, but not only that I was also emptied of all self-esteem. I regret to say that walking out through the school gates at the earliest possible opportunity felt (at the time, at least) like one of the happiest days of my life.

Almost 15 years later, I taught myself to memorize a deck of cards. I cant describe to you how that felt not only had I achieved an amazing feat of mental agility, I had also made a symbolic conquest. I had kicked back at all the mistreatment, negativity and bad reports Id received in my youth. I suddenly realized that perhaps I wasnt destined to be the low achiever everyone had expected, after all. I thought that if I could master a deck of cards, what else was I capable of accomplishing? Slowly, with every new indication that I could build myself an amazing memory, I began to gain self-confidence and self-belief and a world of opportunities opened up before me.

Now, my rather flaccid memory muscle of yesteryear has been seriously put through its paces. A strict regime of memory training over the course of 25 years has turned it into something that is beautifully toned and of which I am immensely proud. What a pity that I didnt discover and practise the art of memory when I was at school!

In this book I want to show you how you can train your memory not only to make it perform mental acrobatics the like of which youve never thought yourself capable of, but also to give you a massive boost in confidence, just as I have had. When you get a glimpse of what potential lies within your memory, youll soon realize that that potential is applicable to other aspects of your brain power, too from your powers of concentration and your ability to think on your feet (your fluid intelligence) to your confidence as a narrator or speaker and even your ability to be thrown into a gathering of people you dont know and work the room like its exactly where you belong.

By taking you along the path of my own journey of discovery, mapping the routes and byways that brought me to where I am and who I am today, I hope I can give you the tools to find your own amazing memory. And I hope you enjoy the ride just as much as I have.

Dominic OBrien

Unlike so many other guides to memory improvement, this book is not intended as an exhaustive introduction to every memory technique out there. Instead, it is an unveiling of my own journey into the power of memory and of my own discoveries about how the human brain works. I have won the World Memory Championships eight times so far and Ive been able to do that because, by trial and error, and by careful, faithful perseverance and dedication, Ive uncovered the specific techniques that have given me a perfect (well, near-perfect!) memory. This book is my way to share those techniques with you in ways that I know work because these were the ways that worked for me.

In order to get the most out of the book, try to resist dipping in and out of it, reading the chapters by random selection. In the first half of the book, each chapter builds on the discoveries that come before so, some techniques or details may not make sense if you havent read the information in sequence. The second half of the book provides all the various ways you can apply the techniques, either for dedicated practice or in day-to-day life, as well as some tips on how to make sure that your body is healthy as well as your mind another important aspect of memory training.