When it comes to memory, I’ve always had a bit of a pumpkin brain.

So, the chance to upgrade my memory and boost my learning power was very intriguing.

That’s what Jim Kwik’s Superbrain program promised to do.

But did it work?

Last month I dived head first into Superbrain and took his course in full.

Here’s my honest review of this Mindvalley program.

I reveal my personal exerience (including the actual impact its had on my memory), the pros and cons of the course, and whether I think it’s worth it for you.

What is Superbrain?

Superbrain is a 34-day Mindvalley course led by Jim Kwik.

BTW: it’s not to be confused with his first Mindvalley program SuperReading, which as the name suggests, is more centered around speed reading.

In a nutshell, Superbrain gives you tools to improve your overall brain performance.

Its main emphasis is on memory, focus, and vocabulary techniques. And it offers you lots of practical ways to work on your overall brain speed, comprehension, and memorization.

It makes sense. The brain itself is a tool and the better we learn how to use it, the better it works.

There are countless studies about how brain exercise can help keep you sharp and make daily tasks much quicker and easier.

We’re told that these are the same techniques Kwik has used to help train celebs to better learn their lines on set, entrepreneurs to turbo-charge their career performance, and CEOs to lead their organizations to greater success.

The techniques are rooted in scientifically backed fields like neuroscience and peak performance.

Why I decided to do Superbrain

I’ve already alluded to why I signed up to do Superbrain in the intro of this article (that’s me above, BTW).

When I was younger there were times when I felt kind of dumb because it felt like my brain was going really slow.

You know that spinning circle you get in the middle of the screen when your internet stops working?

Well that was what my mind and memory occasionally felt like.

I knew it was working in the background. But the slow connection took some time.

I didn’t really have any grand goals of world domination from getting a sharp new brain. It was more modest things I was looking for from Superbrain.

I wanted to be able to pick up a book and actually focus on what I was reading, rather than having to read the same page twice (or even three times) just to take it all in properly.

I wanted to walk into a room without forgetting what it was I had gone there looking for.

And I hoped these things would all help to make my daily life run a bit more smoothly and feel more productive with the hours in the day.

Yes, you can trust this review

Mindvalley boasts on its website that Jim Kwik’s Superbrain techniques are used by some of the brightest and best in the world.

Supporting the likes of Nike, Elon Musk, Google and Stanford University. Whilst that’s very impressive, I’m just a normal person.

I don’t know, maybe you are too. And so maybe you would like to hear what another normal person thinks of Superbrain.

I want to share my honest thoughts about what I actually got out of doing Superbrain, to help you decide whether it could be a good fit for you too.

Unlike most reviews you find online, I’m not going to tell you everything is perfect – because there are several cons you need to know about.

What is Mindvalley?

Since I’ve already mentioned Mindvalley a few times, it’s probably best to quickly clarify what Mindvalley is.

Mindvalley is an online learning platform. But it’s more focused on what I’d call self-help and self-improvement rather than learning practical skills like how to play piano or be a better cook, etc.

The founder of the platform, Vishen Lakhiani (who also teaches the Silva Ultramind program), says it’s all the things you should have learned in school but didn’t.

You’ll find over 50 courses on the site that cover everything from entrepreneurship to life coaching, fitness and spirituality.

Heads up: some of the programs have a real new age feel to them, whilst others are firmly grounded in science.

But in the online learning space, I’d say the range and topics they cover make them unique.

How much does Superbrain cost?

I don’t know about you, but I hate having to endlessly scroll to find out what I think is pretty basic information like the cost.

This is one of my little bugbears about the Mindvalley website actually, but it’s standard with all marketing these days to be fair.

They give the pitch, then much later they tell you the price.

So let’s cover the cost right now before diving further into the details about Superbrain and my own results from it, as well as more on the teacher of the program, Jim Kwik.

To sign up to do Superbrain you will need to enrol with the Mindvalley Membership.

This costs $499 for a year (which works out at $41.60 a month) or you can subscribe monthly for $99.

I already had the membership after taking previous programs on Mindvalley. It gives you access to pretty much all of the 50+ courses on the website (with just a couple of exceptions: Wilfit and Lifebook).

I knew I’d get my money’s worth so I opted for the discounted annual price.

But if you only wanted to do Superbrain, you could probably just take out the monthly subscription and then cancel once you’ve finished.

It’s worth pointing out though that you only get access to the program whilst you are currently a Mindvalley member. So once you cancel, you don’t get to keep the program (and so effectively lose access).

Either way, there is a cooling-off period. Both monthly and annual plans include a 15-day money-back guarantee, so you can try the site out before committing.

Who is Jim Kwik?

The backstory about Jim Kwik is actually really fascinating.

Superbrain is his baby. And it comes after his NY Times bestselling book “Limitless” and his first Mindvalley program SuperReading (which I mentioned earlier).

He’s clearly got an impressive CV.

A whole host of famous names are big fans of Kwik, including entrepreneur Elon Musk, actor Will Smith, tennis player Novak Djokovic and music legend Quincy Jones.

All of whom endorse his methods.

He might be most famous for his speed-reading and memory techniques. But his own personal story is what I find most compelling about Jim Kwik.

A head trauma in childhood left him with learning difficulties. And at school he found himself struggling with the most basic types of memory retention and problem-solving skills.

The dramatic turnaround that took him from feeling so far behind to becoming the world’s number one brain coach was simply learning new habits.

It’s his own methods and research that he shares with you in Superbrain.

What to expect doing Superbrain

Here are a few key bits of information about Superbrain:

• It’s a 34-day program that stretches over 5-weeks
• There’s a total of 8 hours and 46 minutes of video lessons to watch
• Each daily lesson is between 10-20 minutes long.

Superbrain follows a similar format to most Mindvalley programs. You watch daily video lessons and then have short exercises or tasks to do.

You’ll sign up for a particular start date, and the lessons are released one day at a time so that you can’t skip ahead.

Superbrain adopts a micro-learning approach. Basically, rather than being bombarded by tonnes of information, you are only asked to digest little bits at a time, spread out.

For me, this is a big bonus as I can lose concentration otherwise. This way of approaching learning is what Mindvalley attributes to their very high finish rates for their courses.

Apparently, if we’re asked to cram in too much learning into our lives, we’re more likely to just give up.

There are 8 different parts to Superbrain:

After the preparation for starting the program (which just involves watching some intro videos), the course covers 8 parts.

1. Mastering the fundamentals

2. Supercharge Your Lifestyle

3. Remember Long Lists

4. Remember Names With Ease

5. Learn Any Foreign Language

6. Memorize Speeches & Texts

7. Memorize Numbers

8. Become a True Superbrain

There are also a few bonus training sessions that cover topics like procrastination, muscle memory, remembering your dreams and speed reading.

The FAST technique behind Superbrain

One of the fundamentals of Superbrain is the learning method called: ‘The F.A.S.T. System’ (which Kwik developed himself).

The structure goes like this:

• F: Forget. Approaching learning new things with a so-called beginner’s mind. It’s harder than you might think as it involves letting go of our preconceived ideas about learning which hold us back.
• A: Active. The next part involves participating in active learning. This is where you’ve got to apply yourself to make sure you use new skills and stretch your brain.
• S: State. State is all about how you feel when you’re learning. Because as you’ll come to find out, your emotional state actually makes a big difference to the quality of how you learn. In short: being in a good mood makes us learn better.
• T: Teach. The final piece of the puzzle to cement learning is to teach it. The theory goes that when you explain something to someone, it helps you better understand and remember it too. It’s this that helps what you’ve learned really sink in rather than you just trying to memorize it.

Who Superbrain is a good fit for?

At the top of my list for who I think this program is a good fit for are people a lot like me. Normal folk who don’t think their memory is quite up to scratch, or simply want to improve.

Maybe you struggle to remember names, birthdays or important dates. Perhaps your partner can quickly recall details of conversations you have had, but you’re left scratching your head trying to remember more than the vague gist of what you spoke about.

I also think it’s going to be useful for anyone who wants to retain information, in a wide variety of settings.

For example, maybe you need to give a speech and don’t want to be glued to your notes. Maybe you have some sort of exams coming up you’re trying to study for. Maybe you just want to improve your focus to get ahead a bit in life or business.

• Business people
• Academics
• Students
• People who know they struggle with their memory

Lastly, I think it’s going to be a good fit simply if you are interested in this sort of thing. After all, improving your brain’s function is sort of fascinating to learn about.

Who is Superbrain not right for?

I’ve been waiting years for someone to invent a way of learning that involves zero effort. But alas, it’s yet to happen.

So it’s not going to come as a shock when I say it’s not a magic fix.

Yes, you get tricks and tools to hack better memory. But you still have to apply them in order for them to work. If you’re not willing to do that, you’re not going to get much out of it.

This is also a program that is more about applying practical tools than deep diving into the science of memory, learning and brain function. So if that’s what you are after, you might be disappointed.

Other than that, I’m struggling to think of people who wouldn’t benefit from this course, simply because improved memory and focus are sort of universally beneficial.

My results after doing Superbrain

Remember when I said earlier how I felt a bit dumb about my poor memory skills?

One of the biggest revelations for me when I started this course was actually about my habit of negative self-talk.

Telling myself things like “I’m stupid” had actually created negative thought patterns around learning itself.

So when it came to learning new things, I felt nervous, anxious, and lacking in confidence.

When you look at Jim Kwik’s FAST method (and S for State) you realize all that negativity was getting in the way.

It was a huge wake-up call for me. You get what you expect in life, and I’d been expecting to suck at learning and memory.

This understanding alone was worth taking the course for me.

There’s no totally objective way of measuring improvement in memory, but I do feel like my memory is better. And one contributing factor for sure is that I feel way more confident.

The section on learning languages for me was particularly powerful. I’d always wanted to learn Spanish, but had convinced myself I was far from being a natural at languages.

The tips and tricks on learning a language faster helped spur me on, and I’m still having lessons.

I’m not fluent yet, but I’m getting there. And every day I’m just proud that I’m making progress and haven’t given up.

The pros and cons of Superbrain

For me, these were the biggest pros of the Superbrain program:

• How practical the program is. It offers you usable tools to create changes.
• Thanks to the microlearning approach it’s really digestible and easy to fit into your daily life, even for people who struggle to concentrate.
• Much like the other Mindvalley programs I’ve done, the production is top-notch quality with really good videos and structure.
• Jim Kwik is undeniably a leading world expert who knows his stuff.
• It’s user-friendly and down-to-earth in the teaching approach. You don’t need to be an expert, it feels designed for everyday people.
• There’s extra support in the form of “the tribe”, which is an online community of other people who enrol at the same time as you to discuss your experiences. This is more useful than you might imagine, as just having accountability is important.

However, the program isn’t without its downsides. These are the biggest cons in my book:

• Less of a con and more of a transparent observation — I don’t know how long-term the improvements to my learning and memory will be. I suspect you need to keep on practicing long after you have finished the course to really feel all the benefits.
• The course is based on Jim Kwiks work, so much of the information is already out there floating around on the internet (Youtube videos and podcasts) or his book. So technically it’s not exactly new and exclusive information. But what is unique is the structure and having it all presented and accessible to you. That’s what you are really paying for — to get the info neatly wrapped up and delivered in high quality.
• You’ll probably (like me) find certain sections more useful to you than others. For example, maybe you couldn’t care less about memorizing numbers.

What else do you need to know about Superbrain?

Is Superbrain different from SuperReading?

Yes, it is. I’ve already briefly mentioned this. But just to clarify:

SuperReading specifically shows you how to increase your reading speed by nearly double. And also works on your reading comprehension.

Superbrain is more of an all-rounder and focuses more on memorization in general.

Is the Superbrain course worth it?

In terms of tangible differences I’ve noticed after taking a course, this one is up there. So for me, it’s a big yes.

I totally thought it was worth doing Jim Kwik’s Superbrain.

It gave me really simple but effective tools. And after applying them I do feel more focused and productive.

I wouldn’t say I’ve hit genius level, but I did at least remember my dad’s birthday this year. And hey, that’s progress.

I have always known that exercising my body is really important if I want to stay fit and healthy, and Superbrain has made me realize the same goes for my mind too.