Page 17 - How to Develop A SUPER-POWER MEMORY

Habit Is Memory 21
dess, Mnemosyne; and, memory systems were used as far
back as early Greek civilization. The strange thing is that
trained memory systems are not known and used by many
more people. Most of those who have learned the secret
of mnemonics in memory, have been amazed, not only at
their own tremendous ability to remember, but also at the
kudos they received from their families and friends.
Some of them decided it was too good a thing to teach to
anyone else. Why not be the only man at the office who
could remember every style number and price; why not be
the only one who could get up at a party, and demonstrate
something that everyone marvelled at?
I, on the other hand, feel that trained memories should
be brought to the foreground, and to this end—this book
is dedicated. Although some of you may know me as an
entertainer, it is not my purpose, of course, to teach you a
memory act. I have no desire to put you on the stage. I do
want to teach you the wonderful practical uses of a trained
memory. There are many memory stunts taught in this
book; these are fine for showing your friends how bright
you are. More important, they are excellent memory exer-
cises, and the ideas used in all the stunts can be applied
practically.
The question that people ask me most often, is, "Isn't it
confusing to remember too much?" My answer to that is,
"No!" There is no limit to the capacity of the memory.
Lucius Scipio was able to remember the names of all the
people of Rome; Cyrus was able to call every soldier in his
army by name; while Seneca could memorize and repeat
two thousand words, after hearing them once.
I believe that the more you remember, the more you can
remember. The memory, in many ways, is like a muscle. A
muscle must be exercised and developed in order to give
proper service and use; so must the memory. The difference