The National Society of Collegiate Scholars held their 2021 Leadership Summit on January 27th. The event was held virtually and was available to all NCSC members. The day stretched a little over five hours and hosted eight speakers on topics to assist college students and NSCS alumni. Seminars covered budgeting, personal branding, resume composition, etc. The final speaker of the day, and one of the most famous, was Jim Kwik.  

Author of the intellectual development book, “Limitless”, Kwik is known as one of the world’s “super brains”. For the basis of his seminar, he explained some of his ways to essentially supercharge your brain. He claims that these practices will encourage faster reading and the ability to be powerfully present while learning.  

Kwik’s first rule to supercharging your learning is having a “good brain diet”. If an Olympic athlete ate McDonald’s before they competed, they obviously would execute themselves poorer than if they ate a diet that supported peak physical performance. People tend to understand the physical effects of food on their bodies but forget that the brain needs the same dietary care. Some of the most beneficial foods for brain function are avocados, blueberries, broccoli, eggs, olive oil, and salmon. Dark green, leafy vegetables such as kale and spinach are recommended, and even dark chocolate! Kwik’s secondary tip is to add in brain supplements that one isn’t able to receive from their diet alone. The brain thrives on healthy fats and Kwik recommends Omega 3 as an effective brain function supplement.  

The mind, body, and spirit cannot function independently and one of the most important things to improve your brain is to be well rounded in self-care. Along with taking care of your brain, exercise is a vital step to improving memory and comprehension. Exercise physically stimulates the brain by increasing blood flow and providing an environment for new cell regeneration. Optimal brain function happens when you are moving your body.  

Kwik explains that one of his most successful practices growing up was “killing ANTS”. Automatic negative thoughts have the ability to limit us and confine us to negative labels. As a child, Kwik suffered several severe brain traumas before age 7. He was labeled the “broken brain” kid by his peers. By allowing those automatic negative thoughts to enter his head, he trained his brain to believe them. He started banishing his limiting beliefs and is now one of the few individuals that can utilize his brain to its fullest capacity. Because of his brain trauma, Kwik is an adamant advertiser for skull protection. He explained that one of the most important things that we need to be doing to improve our brains is to simply protect them. Helmets and proper car support are vital.  

How you surround yourself both socially and environmentally has a large impact on the functionality of your brain. Socially, the brain needs a positive peer group to induce positive thoughts and limitless beliefs. Research shows that the longer time you spend with someone, the more like them you will become. Surround yourself with role models, and driven, aspirational people. The environment you learn in must be clean and organized if you want to maximize your learning and perform to the best of your ability. Cluttered spaces increase distractions and allow less space in your mind for learning.  

Kwik is a very popular mentor among celebrities. While working on set with Will Smith once, he asked him why he thought he was able to be so successful during his life. Smith responded that he never fails to do two things during his day: walking and reading. To supercharge your brain, you must be committed to learning every day. Reading is the most beneficial way to exercise your brain and train yourself to memorize and comprehend successfully. Kwik whole-heartedly believes that “readers are leaders” and deemed this the most important tip in his seminar.  

Kwik has a podcast, has written a novel, and offers one on one training options for anyone looking to supercharge their brain. The members of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars are extremely grateful to have received the same intensity of training as some of our national celebrities.  

Brooke Kruger is a Dakota Student Opinion Writer. She can be reached at [email protected]