Last weekend I took a road trip to Toronto for the second annual Archangel Summit. Last year, I went with my work wife, Tanya but she wasn’t able to make it. Instead, I went with my two friends Carolina and Sazini and we decided to make the most of it and stay the whole weekend.
As I had already mentioned on social, this time of year, I always seem to have a bit of a lull in my focus. With school starting back, all my energy goes into making sure the boys are ready for school. And while I wouldn’t have it any other way, I also need to ‘start back’ with a steadier schedule and routine for my work once September hits.
Knowing this happens each year, the Archangel Summit was a perfect way to transition well and be ready for the school/work season ahead. And I knew if it was anything close to last year’s event, it would really inspire me.
Road trip to Toronto was a pleasure with these two!
There was so much amazing content given to us during our 10-hour day (plus the meet-up after, making it 14 hours) that it would be impossible to share all that I got out of it in one post. However, I was so blown away by the speakers, I am more than happy to make a series of posts on the Archangel Summit.
Going for our moonshot with the help of Archangel Summit (what an intro!)
I am thrilled that I could attend this year’s summit and I am so happy I can share the nuggets of wisdom that I think will resonate with you as a mama. Most of these speakers I had not heard of before, to be honest, and I loved that. Because it allowed me to go in with fresh eyes and ears to see who would speak to me personally as a mama and a woman. And according to the first speaker, that is actually a good thing. And writing these posts will be the best thing for me to remember all that I learned, since I am teaching it to you.
Jim Kwik
A few short months ago, Jim Kwik launched a free podcast about his area of expertise; helping people learn faster and more efficiently. He is regarded as a guru in speed-reading, memory improvement, brain performance and accelerated learning. Amazing, considering he had a childhood brain injury that left him learning-challenged. Like a true archangel, Jim rose to the challenge, and created strategies to help him enhance his mental performance and then help others.
He has helped top CEOs and celebrities, as well as students and educators. It was a pleasure to hear him speak. Right off the bat, he mentioned a couple of things we all have done: bought books to help us learn better and never read them (he called them ‘shelf’-help books) and forgotten someone’s name just after we meant them (literally did that with Bernadette, not Abigail, after his talk). He may have mentioned more anecdotes but I wasn’t fast enough to write them all down! True story. The irony!
In order for us all to have a good and informative day, Jim shared his acronym F.A.S.T. with us.
FORGET – forget what you already know about the subject, because you don’t learn faster if you think you know about it.
The mind is like a parachute, it only works when it’s open. – Jim Kwik
Forget about situational things – anything that’s not urgent, forget it.
Forget about limitations – don’t think you can’t, it’s self-fulfilling.
ACTIVE – old school education has trained us to be passive (such as sitting at your desk and not speaking, etc.). Our brain doesn’t learn through consuming but by creating.
Learning is not a spectator sport. – Jim Kwik
In order to have active learning, do things like take notes and ask questions. The more active you are, the more you will learn.
STATE – as in how you are feelings or our emotions. Emotion is a state.
Information combined with emotion becomes a long-term memory. – Jim Kwik
You are responsible for your state – the way to move, stand, sit while you are engaged. All learning is state dependent. Curiosity, joy, and fascination are all states.
TEACH – learn as if you will teach it to someone else. If you are teaching, you will absorb the information better.
When you teach something, you get to learn it twice. – Jim Kwik
So my friends, that is exactly what I did here. Sharing my notes, writing them out and making them more emotional, I have been able to learn from Jim Kwik twice! And really, as mamas, we are always learning and then teaching, so we are doing a great job!
In fairness, I took his talk a step further and listened to his podcast about F.A.S.T. in order to break it down for you better. My notes didn’t do it justice, and I had to listen a few times to get all the information. Because…he’s fast! 😉
Here are some more words of wisdom form Jim Kwik that he shared during his talk:
It’s more important to have attention, not retention – because when we are not paying attention, we won’t really hear and definitely do not absorb.
You have a powerful presence by being powerfully present.
The life you live are the lessons you teach. – Jim Kwik
The ultimate superhero is someone who is giving / helping others.
An anagram of LISTEN is SILENT – so remember that when you are listening ?
I’m already full in with Jim Kwik’s podcast and I’m so grateful I got to learn about his teaching through the Archangel Summit. Have a listen and you will see how simple and powerful his short podcasts are. They are perfect to jump start your day. For more information on Jim Kwik, visit his website.