Chances are, you dread exams because you’re not prepared – or more likely you don’t “feel” like you’re sufficiently or adequately prepared.

We’ve all been there at some point – taking an exam knowing we didn’t study enough. We’ve also all been sitting there thinking “I am going to ace this exam!”

The challenge we all have as students is to be able to gauge how much preparation is enough. In my study book – Get The Best Grades With The Least Amount Of Effort, I explain several tips on how to learn HOW you learn.

When you acquire that skill, you can quickly and easily apply it to exam preparation and then exam execution.

Preparing for an exam is NOT the same as taking an exam. In my study book, I highlight exam taking strategies that can relieve a lot of the anxiety and stress you might have.

Since it can’t hurt, if you feel stressed about school or upcoming exams or tests, I’d like to suggest that you give it a try and let me know if it works for you.

You just never know where the next breakthrough will come from. Since I’m not stressed, I can’t really be an objective test subject.

This would be ideal if you’re under severe stress or have anxiety about tests and exams. From what is described, it takes time for it to “work”, so start now and see if it prevents the next anxiety attack.

Try it and let me know by placing a comment below!

The Cortices Technique Video Demonstration

According to Dr. John Veltheim who demonstrates why and how to do the technique in the video above, the brain is the core of the human body it controls the way the body communicates with all it’s various parts. This in turn controls our amazing healing abilities. When the brains function is compromised the Body cannot properly heal.

The Cortices Technique allows for increased brain function and connectivity between all the parts of the Body. Since the body communicates using electricity and quantum energy this technique has an amazing effect on the body by allowing the body to reconnect broken or overloaded circuits.

The technique is has been demonstrated by EMS Response teams to bring trauma patients out of shock when at the scene of accidents. The basic idea is to hold the point of injury and to preform the technique on the patient. This has the effect of allowing the body to address the injury and to do what is necessary. In the case of a trauma victim they could be bleeding to death and the brain is so overloaded that it doesn’t send the healing instructions to clot the blood. The victim then dies due to the fact that the body can’t respond. By preforming the Cortices Technique on the patient the Brain is able to address the problem and allow the body to re-engage in the healing crisis and to clot the blood. If you ask any EMS worker they will tell you that the first thing they need to do is to address shock in a patient. You can use this Technique in any situation mental or physical.

Dr. Veltheim recommends that in the day and age where we have so much electromagnetic radiation. That this technique can be preformed twice a day for 2 or 3 months as a general maintenance routine. The person preforming the technique will notice many changes in their body due the increased ability of the brain to deal with the daily stresses of student life.

I’m sure it will make you smile regardless of what type of student you are. I love it when students use their creative energy and spirit in positive ways like this. Enjoy and please share it with your friends and family!

Hi Dr. Marc,
I just bumped into  your website because we are having our thesis and our topic is about memory enhancers but when I see your blog posts I see that studying can be easy each in our own ways…. My problem is I love reading books and I can read a book of 128 pages within 2 hrs without distraction. How can I be interested in other subjects that are not related to reading?

Because I have difficulty studying math and memorizing.

Maureen M.

First of all, problem-solving subjects like Math, Chemistry and Physics require DOING more than READING. It might help you to read about mathematicians to get immersed in the beauty, elegance and the wonder of science, but you can’t avoid DOING math, chemistry or physics by solving problems.

The best advice is in my study book so you can assess HOW you learn so that you can apply that to math as well as your other subjects.

One way to get better grades in math and other problem-solving subjects is to study in groups with each member working on a different type or format of a problem and sharing the problem-solving process with the group.

That way you can learn more quickly. Ideally, you create a Study MasterMind Group.

That being said, antimimeticisomorphism is about doing out-of-the-ordinary things to get extra-ordinary results – like Duolingo.com – a web service that allows you to learn a new language for free in exchange for your lessons and exercises in translating the Internet’s content. It’s a win-win proposition.

Have a look at this short video and you’ll be amazed how you can learn a new language quickly – for free!

Here is your first question, the foreman said. “Without using numbers, represent the number 9.”

“Without numbers?” The Irishman says? “Dat is easy.” And proceeds to draw three trees.

“What’s this?” the boss asks.

“Have you ain’t got no brain? Tree and tree plus tree makes 9″ says the Irishman.

“Fair enough,” says the boss. “Here’s your second question. Use the same rules, but this time the number is 99.”

The Irishman stares into space for a while, then picks up the picture that he has just drawn and makes a smudge on each tree… “Ere you go.”

The boss scratches his head and says, “How on earth do you get that to represent 99?”

“Each of da trees is dirty now. So, it’s dirty tree, and dirty tree, plus dirty tree. Dat makes 99.”

The boss is getting worried that he’s going to actually have to hire this Irishman, so he says, “All right, last question. Same rules again, but represent the number 100.”

The Irishman stares into space some more, then he picks up the picture again and makes a little mark at the base of each tree and says, “Ere you go. One hundred.”

The boss looks at the attempt. “You must be nuts if you think that represents a hundred!”

The Irishman leans forward and points to the marks at the base of each tree and whispers, “A little dog come along and poop by each tree.
So now you got dirty tree and a turd, dirty tree and a turd, and dirty tree and a turd, which makes ONE HUNDRED!”

Now that’s what you call creative thinking!

Seriously, if there are trees out there, it might just help.

According to Attention Restoration Theory (ART) people can concentrate better after spending time in nature, or even looking at scenes of nature. Natural environments abound with “soft fascinations” which a person can reflect upon in “effortless attention”, such as clouds moving across the sky, leaves rustling in a breeze or water bubbling over rocks in a stream. The theory was developed by Rachel and Stephen Kaplan in the 1980s in their book The experience of nature: A psychological perspective and has since been found by others to hold true in medical outcomes as well as intellectual task attention.

If you don’t have direct access to nature, researchers seem to agree that WATCHING VIDEOS might be the next best thing.

I did a quick YouTube search and found this video – I am sure some of you can find a better one that we can share… Please post the YouTube URL as a comment and I’ll publish the best ones!

The key is to envelop your visual sense in the experience…

You only need a few minutes of involuntary ‘effortless’ attention to then return to your task and have full concentration and focus.

As you’ve come to expect, with an an antimimeticisomorphism approach, I will have a few twists to offer. But first, let me tell you a story.

My mother tongue (original/first language) is French. I grew up in Montreal, Quebec and was a unilingual French speaker until the age of 7. We moved to Jamaica, an English speaking country and we were forced to attend English school since there we NO French schools available.

All I could say on my first day of class was “yes” and “no”, of course I had no idea what the questions were! I made a pact with my brother and sister that we NOT speak French to each other at all so we would learn more quickly. 40+ years later, we still don’t speak French to each other and only speak French to our parents (who are fluently bilingual).

So my first suggestion is to IMMERSE yourself in the language of choice. Today, that means reading, listening to Internet radio stations and watching movies or videos with sub titles or captions. Ideally, you watch a video in French with French subtitles and captions and NOT English ones… So you learn the Verbal/phonetic pronunciation AND the spelling at the same time WITHIN a real-life context. Don’t pause the movie – watch it in real time and just focus and concentrate. You need to trust your brain to assimilate and acquire a LOT more than you think you can. The subconscious part of your brain will pick up a lot of nuances like lip reading cues that your conscious mind won’t notice.

The minute you let yourself off the hook, you’re cheating.

It’s NOT easy to stay disciplined, but the payoffs can be tremendous.

When I worked in Europe, I got to understanding Flemish after only 1 week of being in business meetings. I couldn’t speak it, but I knew what was being said – to my guests’ astonishment. They were so incredulous they would ask me questions that I would then answer in English or French!

When I lived in Canada, I would travel to Mexico on regular vacations and became conversationally fluent with no additional effort. Immersion is the key.

Another great strategy is to place post-it notes on things around the house (door, window, toaster, fridge, carpet, floor, table, bed, etc.) with the translated name. Remove the post-it ONLY once you know the word by heart.

Buy yourself a VISUAL multi-language dictionary (or use an online site). It will help you find words for things you might not even know in your own first (primary) language!

Pick one with more than 2 languages and you might just pick up yet ANOTHER additional language while you’re at it!!!

Get yourself a friend or tutor to help you with pronunciation. Get this sooner rather than later because it’s a BAD habit that is hard to break.

By using ALL your senses (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) you will acquire the new language much more quickly and easily.

The hardest part of learning a new language is being self-conscious about how you sound when speaking. If you can’t get past that, you’ll always struggle.

Growing up in Montreal Quebec with TWO official languages, I worked hard to get rid of my accents when I was speaking either French or English. It took me at least 5 years and now is a lifetime trait I don’t have to worry about.

Last but not least, what makes you fluent in a language is vocabulary. Vocabulary is priceless. The more words, phrases and expressions you can learn the better, but the bare minimum of words you need to ‘get by’ conversationally is between 1,000 and 3,000 words.

That means you can ‘learn a new language’ in one academic semester and then focus on mastering the refinements of grammar and pronunciation.

Worried about having an accent – we all have one, just watch this short video that reveals

31 Different Accents

How To Learn English in 5 Minutes:

1) That’s not right……………………………………. Sum Ting Wong

2) Are you harboring a fugitive?……………….  Hu Yu Hai Ding

If that doesn’t convince you, maybe you need to know the real value of a degree. <- click here for a more uplifting perspective.

One of my very first mentors wisely explained to me that any investment I made in myself, I took with me wherever I would go, for the rest of my life.

I know when you’re young a week or month is a long time and a year seems like forever.

Just think about how quickly the LAST YEAR flew by and that should convince you that it’s a lot shorter than you’re currently thinking!

Don’t ever give up on yourself -
you are your best investment!

Click on the image to get your copy now – you don’t just get a study guide, you also get fantastic bonuses PLUS full-colour MindMaps!

The primary reason is that when asked, most people don’t think they are artistically gifted or talented.

Therein lies the #1 obstacle to effective MindMapping – thinking you need to create a masterpiece.

You don’t.

All you need to do is create VISUAL CUES for your mind to capture the relationships of the elements of the Mind Map. The more vivid and colourful, the better – BUT artistic prowess has NOTHING to do with your ability to recall it on your next exam or test.

For example, as a BASIC MINIMUM, if all you did was go through your notes (in your lined note book) and highlighted, underlined and/or circled the important elements you want to remember, I guarantee you you WILL remember more.

That is the starting point. Eventually, you want to get rid of the lines and MindMap on blank white paper.

Take a look at these student note taking samples to see how you can start the process.

But y’know what” there’s nothing like seeing it to believe it.

Have a look at this short YouTube video below to see what I mean.

If you do, take a photo and send it to me and I’ll post it here on the blog.

Thanks in advance for helping us get the word out to more students. Sometimes all it takes is one idea to transform a mediocre student into a ‘genius’. By doing this, you’re engaging in a concept called ‘paying it forward’. Engaging the Law Of Attraction is something special that once you set it in motion, good things will start to happen, almost like magic.

Do it because you want to help and then see and tell me what happens!

Help Spread The Word: Get Better Grades Now.com

How and why my study techniques work

It’s no mystery why so many students are struggling to get good grades.

Stop reading this and get back to your books!!!!

These are comparisons of three different tests before and after using my speed reading technique.