Description
In this episode of The Legend Effect, host Howie Chan interviews Nelson Dellis, a 4x U.S. Memory Champion, brain performance coach, and author, about how to unlock the full potential of your mind through memory training.
Nelson breaks down the myths about memory and shares how anyone—yes, anyone—can develop powerful mental focus, strengthen recall, and apply memory techniques to improve public speaking, personal branding, and everyday effectiveness.
His story of going from average memory to world-class competitor will inspire anyone looking to boost their cognitive performance, become more influential, and show up with clarity in both business and life.
Episode Breakdown:
02:39 The Michael Jordan of competitive memory sports
03:02 What inspired Nelson to start working on his memory
06:54 Learning to read at 3 years old
08:44 Why Nelson turned to memory competitions to improve his memory
10:43 How Nelson feels about having to perform for others
13:12 Improve your networking skills with these tips to remember people’s names
18:49 How Nelson memorizes quotes, texts, and speeches
24:17 A glimpse into Nelson’s mind and memory palaces
26:35 Start any memory task by doing this
27:23 Short and long-term memory palaces and forgetting the things you don’t want
30:04 Nelson’s daily mind training routine when he’s not competing
31:19 When Nelson realized he was actually good at memorizing
32:42 Strategies and mistakes in memory sports
37:04 Nelson’s career as a professor and the irony of being called forgetful
42:17 Nelson’s first-ever video and his passion for learning and teaching
43:50 Nelson’s journey as a YouTube content creator and his lessons along the way
50:07 The next challenges for Nelson with his YouTube channel
52:19 About being known as the “memory guy” and branching out
54:03 The book that changed Nelson’s life
57:15 How to be and create more memorable things
59:48 Advice on what will truly help you improve your memory
1:01:45 A letter to Nelson’s younger self
From Our Guest:
Learn the basics of How to Remember Names with this video.
Check out Nelson’s first-ever video.
Get the book that changed Nelson’s life, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid.
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