John Graham

And so for that, at the time, I needed to memorize 1,000 digits in an hour in one of the events, 10 decks of cards in one hour in another event, and one deck of cards in under two minutes. And I thought I could do that because when you read the book, you believe it's possible. So I trained for like four months, signed up for my first competition. This was in China. That's another story.

And so for that, at the time, I needed to memorize 1,000 digits in an hour in one of the events, 10 decks of cards in one hour in another event, and one deck of cards in under two minutes. And I thought I could do that because when you read the book, you believe it's possible. So I trained for like four months, signed up for my first competition. This was in China. That's another story.

I'm traveling through China with my girlfriend, who's my wife now. Signed up. I'm sitting down at the first event, which is 30 minutes. We memorize names and faces on a piece of paper. There's like 300 people in the room memorizing, which basically looks like you're taking a test. It's super intense. My heart is pounding out of my chest.

I'm traveling through China with my girlfriend, who's my wife now. Signed up. I'm sitting down at the first event, which is 30 minutes. We memorize names and faces on a piece of paper. There's like 300 people in the room memorizing, which basically looks like you're taking a test. It's super intense. My heart is pounding out of my chest.

Psychologically, I've never been that stressed before in my life. Never felt that much pressure. I almost got up and walked out. It was so intense. And that's sort of my story is how to overcome that, right? How to merge with that feeling. But I almost gave up and I bombed. I completely bombed in that competition.

Psychologically, I've never been that stressed before in my life. Never felt that much pressure. I almost got up and walked out. It was so intense. And that's sort of my story is how to overcome that, right? How to merge with that feeling. But I almost gave up and I bombed. I completely bombed in that competition.

Because there was a couple core things I didn't know what to do, like how to review. So I started talking to some of the best people in the world. Nelson Dulles is a friend of mine. He's a five-time U.S. champion. Boris Conrad from Germany. These people from all over the world were just gifting me insights. Like you talk, meet people who know what they're doing as mentors, as friends.

Because there was a couple core things I didn't know what to do, like how to review. So I started talking to some of the best people in the world. Nelson Dulles is a friend of mine. He's a five-time U.S. champion. Boris Conrad from Germany. These people from all over the world were just gifting me insights. Like you talk, meet people who know what they're doing as mentors, as friends.

And I started befriending these people. And years later, I kept going. I learned from the mistakes I made. I learned how to train with that pressure because the pressure was the number one challenge for me. It wasn't the memory techniques. I could do that. I could visualize. I could store the information in my memory palaces. We talk about the techniques, but it was the pressure.

And I started befriending these people. And years later, I kept going. I learned from the mistakes I made. I learned how to train with that pressure because the pressure was the number one challenge for me. It wasn't the memory techniques. I could do that. I could visualize. I could store the information in my memory palaces. We talk about the techniques, but it was the pressure.

It was sitting down and having your heart race out of your chest, having the voice in your head tell you, you already made a mistake. You're going to F up. Look at all these people. They're better than you. And feeling like the mouth go dry, feeling the head go hot, all of those things, I had to learn how to perform under that.

It was sitting down and having your heart race out of your chest, having the voice in your head tell you, you already made a mistake. You're going to F up. Look at all these people. They're better than you. And feeling like the mouth go dry, feeling the head go hot, all of those things, I had to learn how to perform under that.

Yeah, this is the best question. I hope people really listen to this. At the time, I was told by another competitor. His name was Brad Zupp, a friend of mine. He trained in Starbucks. So he would go to Starbucks, he would get his memory gear out on the table and have people walking all around looking at him like, what's this guy doing? Having the noise and train under those conditions.

Yeah, this is the best question. I hope people really listen to this. At the time, I was told by another competitor. His name was Brad Zupp, a friend of mine. He trained in Starbucks. So he would go to Starbucks, he would get his memory gear out on the table and have people walking all around looking at him like, what's this guy doing? Having the noise and train under those conditions.

So I thought, wow, that's really cool. I need to train under those conditions. And another champion, Ron White, he got a waterproof deck of cards and he would submerge himself underwater, holding his breath and memorize under the psychological pressure. He actually hired a Navy SEAL to train him for the mental, psychological, physical pressure.

So I thought, wow, that's really cool. I need to train under those conditions. And another champion, Ron White, he got a waterproof deck of cards and he would submerge himself underwater, holding his breath and memorize under the psychological pressure. He actually hired a Navy SEAL to train him for the mental, psychological, physical pressure.

And so I took those to heart and I started doing them myself. I call this chaos training. So most memory competitors will sit in their room. They'll put these nice ear blockers over their ears, get nice and quiet and learn the techniques and memorize. And there's nothing wrong with that.

And so I took those to heart and I started doing them myself. I call this chaos training. So most memory competitors will sit in their room. They'll put these nice ear blockers over their ears, get nice and quiet and learn the techniques and memorize. And there's nothing wrong with that.

But clearly when you're in a competition or a TV show and there's massive pressure, you crumble because you're not used to that. That's what happened to me. So I would literally get my stuff ready to memorize, my paper on the sheet, my timer ready. I would get down, do 20 pushups holding my breath.

But clearly when you're in a competition or a TV show and there's massive pressure, you crumble because you're not used to that. That's what happened to me. So I would literally get my stuff ready to memorize, my paper on the sheet, my timer ready. I would get down, do 20 pushups holding my breath.