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BOOK
MAXIMIZING
YOUR
BRAIN POWER
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
JOSEPH C. OSUIGWE
What People are saying about Maximizing Your Brain Power....
a practical guide for students, and anyone, who want to sharpen their
intellect.
Chido Onumah, author, Nigeria is Negotiable
It is well captured in this book, the limitless potentials and possibilities of the
brain. Whether one goes forward or backward; whether one ends or drops out;
all depend on the use or lack of this brainpower.
-DCP Emmanuel Ojukwu.
(President, University of Nigeria Alumni Abuja Chapter).
The powerful possibility and impact of tapping into the brain is one of the most
recent researches that has revealed that even the downtrodden has hope to
eventually square up with civilization someday. Truth is that with more than
2billion brain cells available to the average human, color, or poverty no longer
must be used any longer to justify poor achievement in life.
This book therefore becomes most relevant and advocating to all ages especially
the youth to remain alert, sensitized as they use their brains. It further went
ahead to mobilize, engage and engineer the need for transformational thinking
which has enabled the developed world to get to where they are today. The
reality is that A THINKING NATION IS A LEADING NATION.
Coming from a young man who has spent tireless hours penning down his
thoughts to affect his generation, the least you can do is to give this book the
undivided attention it deserves.
Therefore, in believing that this book will make for a good reading, l strongly
recommend it. Enjoy!!
-Onu, Victoria (Asso Prof)
President ,African network on creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship
University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Maximizing your Brain power is not just another addition to the shelf but rather
a collection of inspirational thought to stimulate the minds of those who desire to
achieve greatness in life.
It is a must read for all homes especially the youths most of whom are in dire need
of proper direction.
-Dr. Nwachukwu Chibuike, U.
(Director, Alvan Consultancy, Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education
Owerri, Imo State)
i
MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
Copyright 2013 by
Joseph C. Osuigwe
All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system in any form or by any means, either by electronics, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without prior permission.
Tel: 08033183566
E-mail: marvelousmikepress@yahoo.com
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This masterpiece is a reflection of God's wisdom, grace, love and
unlimited deposits in me. I am most grateful to God Almighty who
empowered me to persist till the publication of this many years work.
Every achievement has reference to the help of many known and
unknown individuals who contributed to our lives. Here are just few
who contributed in the success of this work:
To my mother Mrs. Pauline who first edited this work at its early stage.
My appreciation goes to Mrs. Nneoma, Mr. Chido Onumah, Dr. Charles
Ugwuegbulam, Mr. Boniface Chimezie, Dr.(Mrs) Victoria Onu, and
several others who contributed in the editing of this book.
DEDICATION
DEDICATION
This masterpiece is dedicated to all the students in Tertiary and
Senior Secondary Schools, to business people, to civil servants, to
leaders, to old and young who are utilizing their brain power to the
benefit of mankind.
FOREWARD
FOREWARD
Joseph Osuigwe Chidiebere, is set to make readers engaged with his
debut, Maximizing Your Brain Powera pathway to becoming an
intellectual giant. This book teaches us how to take control of our
thoughts, identify opportunities, and find success, rather than letting
life happen. Osuigwe made his work far more engaging by using
experiences of acknowledged intellectual giants; and his own
experiences from his days as a teacher, where he observed a lot of
challenges common among students, such as lack of mental exercise,
lack of intellectual curiosity and motivation, lack of academic vision,
etc.
The book is broken down into six chapters; each chapter represents a
snapshot of a single plot point, each with infinite interpretation.
Chapter four for example highlights the importance of reading and
how to go about developing a reading skill, whether you are engaged
in a novel, pondering/skimming over a newspaper or just looking at a
sign. Reading skills allow you to interpret and become engaged in the
world around you. Today, students have many opportunities to gather
information. Books are not the only tools students are exposed to, but
using smart phone, reading from electronic tablets or researching on a
computer has opened the floodgates for finding and accessing
information. That's to say, students with reading skill necessary to
access and use information are not first learning to read, but reading
to learn.
Linus Okorie
President, Guardians of the Nation International
vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE:
You can become an intellectual giant
They were called stupid and misfits. Yet, they eventually became geniuses, to the dismay of
the world. They were written off, but they later became 'the right stuff'. How could a person
CHAPTER TWO:
Tapping into the power of your brain
The greatest and most complex computer you can think of in the world is your brain. Many
have achieved the impossible by tapping into the incredible power of their brain. How
powerful is your brain? How can you tap into the power of your brain? You need to know
this..
CHAPTER THREE:
Mental: Exercise, Diet and Rest
No one can tap into the tremendous power of his or her brain if he or she does not give his
or her brain its needs. Your brain is very thirsty of something. What are the basic needs of
your brain? How can your brain function beyond your expectation and give you great
results?
CHAPTER FOUR:
The Power of reading
How did Abraham Lincoln who did not attend school become one of the greatest leaders by
becoming a great reader? Can reading take you to the top? Yes. How can reading make a
difference in your mind and life? Let's see it here!
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
CHAPTER FIVE:
Remembering
How can a man be reading under the rain and he didn't notice it? Why did you forget most
of what you read and remember just few? How can you brain store everything you want?
Just read, you will be surprised to hear what Prof. Remember has to say.
CHAPTER SIX:
Transformative thinking
By thinking aright some people have transformed their lives to greatness while others
deformed theirs. Thinking can build a man or destroy him. Men used thinking to get what
they needed. Where can thinking take you to? Let's see how you can make it by thinking.
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can be achieved. -
Napoleon Hill
BRAIN POWER
When a person realizes the unlimited power of his brain and
utilizes it, the sky will be his starting point. By tapping into the
tremendous power of your brain, you can do exploits. Men who
fully tapped into the power of their brains were always celebrated.
People like Thomas Edison who invented the electric bulb, Henry
Ford who manufactured Ford motors, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates,
Nelson Mandela, Chinua Achebe, Philip Emeagwali among others,
became great in life because they put their brains to use by tapping
its power. Unfortunately, an average person doesn't use up to 20%
of the power of his brain. You can be a record breaker by
maximizing the power of your wonderful brain. The brain can do
more than you think. Our brains need to be stretched with what is
in this book.
NOTE: Make sure that everybody who is related to you gets a copy
of this book to read.
The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man
who'll get me a book I ain't read. Abraham Lincoln
DEFINITION OF TERMS:
Intellectual: It involves the ability to think logically and deeply, reason
well and understand difficult things.
Intellectual curiosity: is a great hunger and ability to learn beyond the
basic or common knowledge. It is a desire to invest time and energy into
learning more about a thing.
Genius: is a person who is extremely intelligent, or one who has a special
skill or ability in a particular area.
Intellectual giant: A person who is mentally good at something and has
produced an extraordinary result with his brain. One who is gifted and can
generate great ideas on his own.
Intellectually disabled: is the inability of a person to function well with
his brain. It is a loss of intelligence and ability to perform mental tasks.
Mental capacity: is the ability to read, think deeply, reason, remember
and do any other thing that involves your mind. It also refers to
intellectual capacity.
rest.
Psychologist: one who studies the mind and behaviours and tries to
modify them.
Neurosurgery: is a medical specialty that involves prevention, diagnosis,
treatment and rehabilitation of brain disorders, nervous system, etc.
Visual: an image, picture or something connected with seeing that makes
something easier to understand.
Auditory: something that has to do with hearing.
Kinesthetic: something that has to do with touching, feeling, moving and
practicing of a thing.
Memory test: questions that determine the extent you have learnt or
known and memorize things.
Multiple choice test (question): questions with phrases followed by two
to four options from which you can choose the answer.
Item identification: involves recognizing something among many things
or to find an item from lists of things.
Matching: to combine or connect two related items with a line.
Attention: listening and taking notice of something with your mind so as
to remember it.
Mental imagery: involves imagining or having a picture of what you are
reading or forming a picture of what you intend to remember in your
mind.
Transformative thinking: is a form of thinking that teaches you to
control how you use your mind and it brings positive change, peace, etc.
Meditate: is to think about a particular thing deeply in a calm and
deliberate manner for a long time.
Brainstorming: is to think about a problem and produce an idea way of
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
CHAPTER ONE
YOU CAN BE
AN INTELLEC-
TUAL GIANT
his chapter carries a fascinating message about how you can improve
T your intelligence and become a known intellectual giant in the world.
It aims at inspiring and motivating you to develop your seed of
intelligence so as to achieve more results in what you do.
By reading this chapter, believing and applying the suggestions in it, you
will do better than you ever imagined. You are more than what you think you
are. Read and experience a change.
Damola was born to two medical doctors, Dr. and Dr. Mrs. Shehu
Roberts. As he grew up, it was discovered he could not walk, talk
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
nor do many things like his mates. After diagnosis, Damola was
confirmed to be a Down syndrome patient meaning he will remain
intellectually disabled. His mother took him to the United Kingdom
to seek medical solution to the challenge which the doctor's report
said there was no solution. They said (predicted) that he can never
talk nor be able to learn. He was brought back to Nigeria and the
family decided to help him develop some coping strategies that
would enable him learn what he was expected to know, like
dressing, eating, greeting, etc.
Thomas Edison had a very low I.Q and started speaking very late.
He was belittled by his teacher Reverend G.B Engle at the age of 7.
Rev. Engle called the young Edison addled. This outraged the
youngster and he was later withdrawn from the school where he
had been for three months. His mother decided to educate him at
home. He developed hearing problems at an early age. Yet Edison
probably gained a far better education than most children of his
time.
Thomas Edison plunged into great books. Before he was 12, he had
read works by Shakespeare, Edward Gibbin, Dave Hume's history
of England and more. Young Edison had much enthusiasm for
reading.
2. He is not intelligent
3. He is not very intelligent
4. He is very intelligent.
Intelligence is one of the most complex and interesting words
used in offices, companies, schools and the business
communities. Often times one attracts respect from his fellows
according to the degree of his intelligence.
From the above table, it is important to note that Ebere, Bola and
Amina are intelligent. The difference is that Ebere is more intelligent
than others while Amina is more intelligent than Bola.
You can compare yourself with the above tabular analysis. Whether
your intelligence is below average, average or above average; you
don't have to remain at that level. Widen up your intelligence.
If you are a below average person, you can improve your intelligence
or increase your intelligence quotient by engaging in constant
mental activities/exercise like studying harder, thinking positively,
reasoning better etc. It is possible for you to improve and increase
your intelligence to an average level and probably little bit higher
than average. It demands your effort, determination and dedication.
When others read a book twice to assimilate the content, you need to
read the same book thrice or more.
Those who are very intelligent don't need to relax at that level. They
also need to improve their intelligence through higher mental
activities.
KEY NOTE: Fast learners retain information more than slow learners
because they learn more in the same learning period. We all learn at
different paces. John Stuart Mill, the great English philosopher, logician and
economist was a very fast learner and highly above average. He began to
study Greek at 3 years, read Plato's books at 7 years, studied Latin,
geometry, and algebra at 8 years. At 12 years he was studying philosophy.
Most of the great scientists and geniuses we hear about were sometimes in
their lives known as slow learners and below average people. They
persistently developed and improved their intelligence and rose to above
average.
They gave themselves to studying and other mental exercises which made
them intellectual giants. Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Benjamin Carson,
etc., are a few examples. You can be among the intellectual giants today. Do
something now.
HEAR THIS:
THE BOY WHO READ TWO BOOKS EVERY WEEK
One of the world's greatest neurosurgeons, Benjamin Carson was a
below average person. He was called a dull student by his teachers
and mates. He frequently came last in the class and was an object of
caricature in his school. His intelligence quotient was very low. He
lost hope of academic success.
You may not know how intelligent you are until you make a
conscious effort to develop it
intelligence.
4. To know more than others you have to study more than
others. (This was the secrets of Ben Carson, Thomas
Edison, Elbert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Philip Emeagwali,
etc.)
5. Those who think they are very intelligent and don't care
to improve are usually over taken by the less intelligent
people who have persistently improved their intelligence
through much studies and other mental exercises.
6. Your thoughts and belief about your intelligence have
effects on it.
7. There is no limit to how intelligent you can be.
INTELLIGENCE BOOSTERS
There are things one can do to improve his/her intelligence.
Below are some of them:
1. Study hard
2. Deep thinking and meditation: think over things, thinking
before acting, think to know the How and the Why of any
topic.
3. Good reasoning
4. Learn from your past experiences and that of others.
5. Practice: you can't learn to think without practicing it.
6. Generate ideas (good idea is part of intelligence).
7. Feed your brain: eat foods (like, fish, egg, water/fluids,
fruits, etc.) that help your brain function.
CHAPTER TWO
ithin the pages of this chapter, you shall discover the great
W power of your brain and how you can tap into it.
This chapter will open your eyes to the mysteries of your great brain. Your
brain is more wonderful than you think. When you know more about the
wonders of your brain, then you can use it better than usual. You can achieve
a lot with your brain. Read these texts and learn how to utilize the power of
what you carry in your skull.
I t has been observed that the average human being does not use
up to 20% of his brain power. The human brain is composed of
more than 100 billion nerve cells, which interact in various ways.
Each brain cell contributes to behaviour and presumably to mental
activity. It is a complex structure.
The brain uses 1/5 of the body oxygen and requires enough energy.
Its weight is 3 pounds or 1.58kg The brain is an amazing
information processor, capable of handling more complexity and at
greater speeds than you were taught to use in school. There is a
tremendous learning power in the human brain.
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
A middle-brain person
The middle-brain person adapts to both sides (right and left) of the
brain. One can also develop himself on any side of the brain.
BRAIN WAVE
The brain is as fast and powerful as an electric current.
--Joseph Chidiebere
I want you to always make use of your alpha state from now.
Share your experiences with your friends.
HOW TO ENTER INTO ALPHA STATE
1. Relax your body and be quiet
2. Relax your mind (free it from worries).
3. Slow your breathing or you can close your eyes.
4. Concentrate on what you read or what you intend to think,
and meditate and feel it. (Reflect on the information)
Practice this often to master it.
NOTE: Make sure you allow only positive information into your
mind. Don't give room to negative thoughts for your own good.
It is profitable to use your alpha state for God and to honour
him. God always speaks to us when we are in such a state. You
can receive rhema and inspirations from God in this state.
Alpha state is needed for your early morning quiet time or
personal study and prayer.
Most writers get their ideas and inspirations through the alpha
state. I received most of my inspirational information/ideas
when I was in alpha state. I suggest that you use this alpha state
regularly. I am certain that with the help of this alpha state you
will experience positive changes in your memory/brain
functions. It will open doors of creativity to you. It is beneficial
to business people, civil servants, politicians and every other
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
person.
3. Theta state: Theta wave takes place when you are in deep
meditation. A person who is day dreaming is often in a theta
state. It occurs when you are in REM sleep. (Rapid-Eye-
Movement Sleep)
Theta state can be when you are still asleep and very relaxed.
It is a state when tasks become so automatic that you are
mentally disengaged from them. It can be when you are in the
shower or doing some automatic tasks.
That wave has a greater amplitude and slower frequency of 4-
8cps.
4. Delta state: This is when you are in a very deep sleep. When
we turn off the lights and close our eyes, our brain waves will
descend from beta, to alpha, theta and finally to delta. It is a
sleeping state and indicates a dreamless sleep.
Delta wave has the greatest amplitude and slowest frequency of
1.5-3.9 cps. The frequencies never go down to zero because that
would mean a brain dead-state.
When the delta brain waves increase into the frequency of theta
brain waves, active dreaming takes place.
THE MEMORY
The average man does not use above ten percent of his intended capacity
for memory. He wastes the ninety percent by violating the laws of
remembering. Prof. Carl Seashore.
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
The more you store information in your memory the more your
brain creates spaces for other information. It operates as GIGO
(Garbage in Garbage out). The brain has the largest space in
your body, by reason of the memory.
Memory is a function that involves the full participation of your
whole human body or senses. Your feelings and sensations are
important for your memory. When your senses are at alert it
helps you to engrave information in your memory.
Note: The more you know about your memory the better you'll
understand how you can improve it.
The parts of long term memory are:
1. Procedural Memory: This is a memory of how to do
something, especially physical task like brushing of teeth,
typing, writing etc. This is also referred to as automatic
memory.
Most of the things you learned, repeated and retained in
primary schools are now automatic recall. (You remember
them easily and faster).
Do: (1) Count 1, 2, 3 .20
(2) Recite A, B, C, D Z
(3) Recite 2 multiplication table.
(4) Write down 1 3 letter words.
Questions:
(1) Did you find it difficult/hard to remember
them?
(2) Did you think before answering them?
In most cases, the store of memories is not lost, but they are
inaccessible because they can't be retrieved.
FACT 4: HYPERMNESIA
This refers to a prodigious capacity for remembering facts in one
field.
FACT 5: PARAMNESIA
This refers to illusions generated by the memory.
Examples:
(1) Dj vu -> the feeling that you've previously
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
FACT 6: ECMNESIA
This means to experience something or imagine something of the
past as though they are happening in the present. It is a
characteristic of Alzheimer disease.
FACT 8: ATHEROCLEROSIS
This affects the blood vessels supplying the brain with blood. This
makes cholesterol to block the arteries. The blockage can lead to
sudden reduction in the blood supply to the brain and the risk is an
Ischaemia stroke. This can also lead to inability to walk and speak.
DECISION
What steps have you decided to take in order
to tap the power of your brain?.......................................................................
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CHAPTER THREE
MENTAL:
EXERCISE,
DIET & REST
ith this chapter and the next (Chapter Four), you will discover
W the three most important things that will make your brain a
super machine. It is written to expose you to the exercises that
your brain/memory desperately needs to function greatly.
Mental exercise
Intellectual giants are people who have made mental exploits in
different sectors of our WORLD. People like Philip Emeagwali,
Wright brothers, Chinua Achebe, Bill Gates, Ben Carson and others.
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
36
MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
Mental diets
You are aware that your body needs diets to function healthily. In
the same way, your brain needs diets for its functions.
Diet is the sum of the food you consume for growth and to improve
your health. If you don't eat, your growth and body function will be
negatively affected. Your body needs food to provide it with the
nutrients (Protein, Carbohydrate, Vitamin, Fats, Minerals and
Water) to function and work well. This is exactly how it is with your
brain or mind. (Your brain needs diets)
your mind. Good books equip the mind, others corrupt the mind.
Mark Twain remarked, The man who does not read good books
has no advantage over a man who can't read them.
The ideas and spirit of a writer dwell in his book. When you read a
book you manifest the ideas and spirit of the writer. Ralph Waldo
Emerson says, A man is known by the books he reads. You need to
avoid: books that will not add value to your life, books that will
instigate negative thoughts in your mind, books that will
disassociate you from reality, etc.
Mental rest
Mental rest takes place when your body is at rest. After long hours
of mental exercise, we need to rest in order to build mental energy.
Sleep and relaxation are the major forms of rest. This involves
entering into a Delta or Theta brain state. (According to Brain wave,
in chapter two)
DECISION
What are the things you want to do to enhance your mind and
brain functions?
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CHAPTER FOUR
POWER
OF
READING
his chapter will certainly ignite the passion to read more in you. It
T will expose you to how reading can take you farther than you think.
It is aimed at exposing you to practical concepts of reading and
making you a great reader. The information in this chapter will leave a
remarkable appetite to read more than you do.
POWER OF READING
Some books are to be tasted, others swallowed while some few to
be chewed and digested. Francis Bacon
It is well to read everything of something and something of
everything. Lord Henry. P. Brougham
The habit of reading is the only enjoyment, in which there is no
alloy, it lasts when all other pleasures fade. Anthony Trollope
Anthony Robbins, the author of Awaken the Giant right from his
secondary school was highly addicted to reading. He read
hundreds of books on personal and spiritual development. Before
th
his 46 birthday, he had highly improved his mind. He became
famous, taught professors on success mentality and business men
on wealth creation. He has insight on human beings more than
many renowned psychologists.
Reading is an obligation to every living person. If you don't read,
you will start rusting mentally. You ought to be like Adam Smith and
Aristotle who preferred reading to any other activities. Mortimer
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
You need to acquire the habit of reading. Many young people have
replaced the habit of reading with watching movies, online chatting
etc., The habit of reading is really deteriorating among young
people which is negatively affecting their level of mental exploits.
I would like you to know some concepts about reading and learning
for proper understanding of this chapter:
Types of Reading
1. Scanning type of Reading: This is a technique you often use
when looking for words, phrases, etc., in a dictionary,
telephone book, encyclopedia and other reference
materials. In most cases, you know what you are looking for,
so you're concentrating on finding the answer. Scanning
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
STUDY SKILLS
1. Reading with a purpose
The first thing to do is to know why you are reading a book in the
first place. You need to know where your reading is going. You need
to know what you are looking for. You need specific goals each time
you read. Would the book provide what you need? What will it add
to you?
2. Overview
Check the content first. View the book before you start reading it.
View what you have in mind or what you are looking for. It is
necessary to read the introduction of the book before reading the
main content.
3. Read Actively
It is not advisable to read without focusing emotionally and
mentally on the information. I believe that when you read, you need
to ask yourself questions such as:
What does this mean?
What is the main idea?
What is the application of this?
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
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MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
A great reader is one who reads a lot. Great readers are book
addicts.
They are voracious readers
They read beyond what is taught in school
They read what others may not read
CHINUA ACHEBE
Chinua Achebe, one of the greatest African literary giants was an
avid reader. During his young age, his teacher described him as the
student with the best handwriting and studying skills. He belonged
to a group of six exceedingly studious students. So intense was their
studying habits that the headmaster banned the reading of books
from five to six O'clock in the evening. This was because his group
always read beyond the stipulated period.
WOLE SOYINKA
Wole Soyinka, the first African noble laureate is a man whose
reading culture and writing style have continued to inspire many
younger people of this generation. During an interview by John
Agetua in 1974, Soyinka said that he had read widely in the world's
literature: European, Asiatic, American, etc. His passion for reading
and writing has made him to be among the world intellectual
giants. He has made a great contribution to African literature.
MARGARET THATCHER
Margaret was a great reader and the first woman prime minister of
Great Britain. She defeated Edward Heath to become the first
woman leader of the conservative party for three successive terms.
POWER OF SELF-EDUCATION
Self-education is a process of engaging in constant learning of a
particular or different topics or subject matter by reading,
researching, reasoning, thinking, etc., which leads to self-
development and improvement. It is the bedrock of intellectual
development. It is a kind of education that involves self-imposed
mental activities.
If all the hours you spent watching movies were put to reading, you
would have been better than you are now.
The more you watch movies the less you read books and the more
you read books, the less you watch movies.
I was born with a reading list of books that I will never finish. No
one can finish reading unless death knocks at his door
Wise students study when they can; others study when they must.
-Joseph Chidiebere O.
DECISION
W h a t a r e yo u r d e c i s i o n s f r o m t h i s
chapter?
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CHAPTER FIVE
REMEMBERING
REMEMBERING
It is one thing to store information and another is to remember
what you stored. Joseph Chidiebere Osuigwe
Things that were hard to bear are sweet to remember. Seneca.
T
rd
he 3 stage of memory processes known as
retrieval/recalling or remembering is a major problem that
everybody experiences. It is a serious issue facing everybody,
especially students.
No two people will ever store the same piece of information in the
same way. Readers Digest.
One day, he found a dry spot under a huge tree in the camp and
decided to read under it. He was so immersed in the book, that he
was oblivious to the rain, and the noise and activity of the camp.
This was extreme concentration.
Attention distractors
Attention dIstractors or obstacles include the circumstances which
do not always make it easy for you to maintain high degree of
attentiveness. They include: Fatigue, stress, effects of certain
medication, a poor lifestyle, illness, loss of concentration and
absence of curiosity.
ability to organize ideas. Check very well, anytime you are running
out of time or pressed for time, you hardly concentrate and your
brain will not be much receptive to what you are reading unlike
when you are in the right mood.
Nervous tension can cause memory block.
Anxiety which goes along with stress and also disrupts the memory
circuits.
Any lowering of morale has an effect on the memory
The presence of deadline can interfere with your ability to
concentrate and hence your performance, especially it can have
physiological side effects like sweat, panic, worry, palpitations, etc.
(Any activity involving a time-limit can be a source of stress to
procrastinators). Setting time limit is not bad, but don't allow it to
bring stress to you. TIME limit or deadline is meant to combat
laziness and procrastination. So don't postpone the time you're
supposed to study.
Procrastinators usually battle when the time limit or deadline is
approaching and this generates much stress. Procrastination can
have negative effects on memory/brain. Avoid procrastination
now. Read your books at the right time.
2 REFLECTION.
Edmund Burke said, Reading without reflecting is like eating
without digesting. To reflect means to think carefully and deeply
about what you are reading. Reflecting over what you are reading
helps to transfer the information to the permanent memory.
Think and reason logically over the information. Logic is
about order, so you need to have an orderly way of thinking and
reasoning. Logical thinking helps you to give the information a
structure. It gives your memory an order. (Your Memory Needs
Order). Think! Think!! Think!!!
3 REPETITION/REHEARSAL
This leads to internalization and retention of the information and
increases the retrieval speed. It is a continuous mastery of
information beyond the point of mere recall. Repetition on its own
is not sufficient for learning. When repetition is done alone
(without other strategies of learning and remembering) with the
aim of just passing a test, it becomes cramming, an unproductive
and un-endurable value.
4 ASSOCIATION
This means to relate what you want to remember with what you
already know or perhaps with your environment. (Environment
can be people around you, events, stories, living and non-living
things). Try to link, relate and compare what you are reading with
other things you know. Create similarity between what you are
reading with the information you already know. In the brain, all
new information is naturally related to information already in
place in the memory. To remember such information you need to
first recall the cue (the CUE is what reminds you of the information.
A cue is like a reminder). When you think of or remember anything
that is related to the information you have stored, it will connect
you to the information you want to remember.
Association is the mental process of connecting two things so
that remembering can be easy.
With association, information leads to another information
and to another.......
The Chinese proverb said, One time seeing is worth one thousand
hearing. People remember most of what they see than what they
hear. Visualization is a very powerful way of effective learning.
The richer your mental images, the more solid the memorization
process will be.
When you imagine, you draw on memory.
6 OVER-LEARN
This means learning something even after you think you knew it.
Over-learning helps to consolidate and solidify the information in
your long term memory. Don't stop learning something merely
because you know it, but embrace the chance to re-learn what you
know.
Over-learning is one of the ways that leads to automatic
remembering. It helps to form an automatic memory in your brain.
7 ORGANIZE.
This means to arrange, to categorize and to give the information an
order. It involves re-grouping of the information. Example: how will
you memorize 0815963267? One of the ways to arrange this
numbers in order to remember them easily is: 08-15-96- 32-67.
Groupings or chunking
Europe Africa
France Nigeria
England Ghana
Italy Egypt
Cameroon
The categorization of these countries will also help in
remembering or recalling them.
WHY WE FORGET.
The existence of forgetting has never been proved. We only know that
some things don't come to mind when we want them.
Fredrick Nietzsche.
We study our heads off for an exam only to find to our dismay the
information isn't all there when we need it.
We watch the evening news, and half an hour later can't relate the
least story.
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
76
MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
There are about four major reasons why people forget. They are
called theories of forgetting.
The names of people (school mates, etc.) and other things you
knew earlier in life, but have not been using will
disintegrate/disappear with the passage of time.
The information you don't make use of for a long time may
disappear or be hard to remember.
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
77
MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
When you the enter examination hall, do you often find yourself
recalling the information you learned recently, but couldn't
remember what you learned long-ago? That is retroactive
interference.
Note: Interference does not mean that the information you want to
recall are not in long-term memory. You can eventually remember
that information after the examination. Interference can be
reduced by repetition and over learning.
Often times, I felt so sure that I knew a word and could even give a
hint of it, but I still could not remember the complete word, even
after struggling to do so. Investigation shows that TOTs is a
universal experience that occurs may be once in a week.
DECISION
What have you decided to do to easily remember
information?
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CHAPTER SIX
TRANSFORM-
ATIVE
THINKING
TRANSFORMATIVE THINKING
Intelligence is something we are born with; thinking is a skill that
must be learned. Edward de Bono.
If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never give
room to a negative thought. Joseph Chidiebere.. Osuigwe
12. Critical Thinking: This is the ability to think with the aim of
finding out a fact, mistake, error, etc so as to eliminate them.
Proof readers and editors are good in critical thinking.
Critical thinking can be bad if the purpose is to condemn and
not to correct. If you are a critical thinker, you have to be
A PATHWAY TO BECOMING AN INTELLECTUAL GIANT
88
MAXIMIZING YOUR BRAIN POWER
Any minute or hour you set aside for thinking right thoughts
is always a productive time.
You ought to capture your ideas by any good means possible. Don't
go to bed without a thinking-paper near you. It pays to capture
ideas. If I had not been capturing and synthesizing my ideas for the
past four years, this book wouldn't have been written. This book is
the outcome of my years of accumulated ideas, experiences and
researches.
Thinking Aright
Thinking, alone, won't guarantee success. You need to think about
the right things. What do you always think about? Do you always
think about bad, negative and immoral things? You are what you
always think.
What you think either builds or defiles you.
It's not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by
what comes from your heart.
It is what comes from inside your mind that defiles you. For from
within, out of a person's heart, comes evil thoughts, sexual
immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit,
lustful desires, envy, slender, pride and foolishness. All these vile
things come from within; they are what defile you.
books feed the soul and equip the mind; others destroy and corrupt
the mind. Any book that cannot add value to your life, is capable of
harming your mind. Such books include: sexually motivated or
erotic books, magical story books, pornographic pictures and
books that instigate violence in you. The writers of these books
have no good intention for their readers.
Each time you catch yourself thinking a negative thought, reject the
thought and think a positive one. Decide that from today, from this
very moment, you are leaving negative thinking behind, and
starting on the way towards positive thinking.
You are what you are and where you are because of
what's gone into your mind. You can change
what you are and where you are by changing
what goes into your mind. - Zig Ziglar.
The more you task you brain, the greater the ideas you generate,
and the greater the results you command. Dr. David Oyedepo
The mind is the decisive factor in your life, but who decides for the
mind?
When you have control over your thoughts, you have control over
your life.
DECISION
What have you decided to do to be aa great thinker?
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Reference:
Aronie, Nancy. (1998) Writing from the Heart. New York: Davidson.
Carnegie, Dale. (1957) Public Speaking. Surrey: The world's work.
Carson and Murhpy. (1992) Think Big. Michigan: Zonder Van,
Ciccarelli, Saundra and Meyer, Glenn. (2006) Psychology. New
Jersey: Pearson Prentice
Davidson, Jim. (1979) How to plan your life. Pelican Publishing Co.
Forster, Sandy. (2006) How to be wildly wealthy fast. Australia:
Religious Broadcasting Inc.
Hill, McGraw. (1973) Encyclopedia of World Biography. New York:
Hill Bod Company.
Honor Books. (2003) You can be a world changer. Benin city:
Matthew (16:33) Christian publication,
Kosslyn, Stephen and Rosenberg, Robin. (2004) Psychology. 2nd
Edition. New York: Pearson Prentice.
Kumuyi, William. (2002) The making of a successful youth. Yaba
Lagos: Life press.
Maxwell, John. (2003) Thinking for a Change. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson,
Maxwell, John. (2007) Talent in never enough. Nashville: Thomas
Nelson.
Morney, Jonathan and Cole, David. (2000) Learning outside the
lines. New York: Simon & Schuster,
DATA
Name:
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Mobile Contact:
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Signature: ....
J M oseph
Osuig
w
Chidiebere
e
aximizing your Brain Power
is an inspirational and
practical masterpiece that
empowers the readers to do extra-
is the initiator
ordinary things with their wonderful
o f
brain. It will boost their mental
Developmen
performance; and ignite their passion
t a n d
Transformation Project (DEVATOP) to engage in consistent mental
in Abuja, Nigeria; a project that has activities and self education.
impacted thousands of young people The book has fundamental keys to self-
in Nigeria. He has collaborated with improvement. It contains the secrets
United Nations Office of Drugs and and achievements of some world
Crimes (UNODC) to execute his acknowledged intellectual giants like
National Youth Service Personal Benjamin Carson, Chinua Achebe,
Community Development Project
Wole Soyinka, Thomas Edison,
which includes Student's
Benjamin Franklin, and Helen Keller. It
Empowerment.
has what it takes to improve readers'
His passion became obvious in
mental capabilities regardless of their
University of Nigeria Nsukka (Alvan
Campus) in 2009, while in 200 level academic background.
(Second year) he organized and This is a treasure to everyone who
facilitated series of Academic desires to go beyond their present
Empowerment Workshops for 100 performance. It is for Students (Senior
level (First year) students. Secondary and tertiary students),
He is an educationist, academic and leaders, Civil servants, and business
personal transformation facilitator, a people. Amos Bronson said, That is
prolific writer, a smart and hard a good book which is opened with
working fellow with proven
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leadership qualities.
This book has a lot of profits to
Joseph believes that young people
those who will read it with
are the major focal points for National
development. expectation.
marvelousmikepress@yahoo.com
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