Ultra Name Recall

Many people are blessed with a great memory, others have developed theirs by training. Think about it: you never forget the date of your birth, your best friend’s birthday, or even the names of your kids. But what's so special about these types of memories? What makes them so much better than other types?

It all has to do with how our brains process information. One type is called Explicit Memory which we can consciously recall at any time such as remembering a person’s name. The other type is called Implicit Memory and it’s used for things we can't recall consciously. It's involved in memories that we may use in “everyday life” (think of how you can get around a city) or “learned behavior” (like tying shoes).

Implicit memories are durable and last a lifetime whereas explicit memories deteriorate quickly. We don’t forget our friends' birthdays, but we might be tempted to forget their names! This is because the brain stores explicit memories differently than implicit ones. The former tends to fragment, which makes them hard to access, while implicit memories all flock together in clusters that make them easy to find.

Implicit memory is also affected by context. You may know the name of your friend’s husband but not his wife. This makes sense because in general people tend to remember names for individuals but not for group memberships, gender, or professions. Your school teacher's name is probably easier to recall than your married neighbor's name.

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The people I meet in ultra are on another level than most people I have ever met before and the possibilities that exist here are endless. There is no way that anyone could ever get tired of me as they were still discovering me every day and yet my life has come to a lightning fast stop compared to most people I know (and even how amazing I feel). When I get to be 40 and living in my house I'll definitely be asking if this was the "life" I always wanted.

I've noticed that the people who have more freedom, less baggage and less expectations of others are the ones who seem to live the happiest lives (at least at the level I have seen and been a part of). This is why people like Duncan, Tony, Rebecca and Roger live such wonderful lives. They have a simple path and clear understanding of what they want from life yet can enjoy every moment as it comes. They are never caught up in thinking about being alive but rather being alive at all times.

It makes it so much easier to be happy without the need to pre-plan or follow any particular path. All I have to do is accept every moment as it comes. This is a really great way of living but they are few and far between. Most people are weighed down with expectations and baggage (many of which they carry themselves) that seem like burdens to them yet in reality they have nothing to do with them at all, but the person themselves.

The difference between people is that some can see the need to control the future or their own lives and others don't. Some choose to become a slave to this thought process while others choose to get rid of it. Most people spend their day wishing they could be somewhere else, doing something else, or someone else. I always found it ironic whenever I saw somebody reading a newspaper or magazine on a bus because they were in such a hurry that they spent five minutes looking at the front page and only one moment enjoying the journey itself...

I have had many different jobs in life so far and none of them are similar in any way whatsoever. I have done my time in a petrol station, restaurant, bike shop, mining company and now a chartered accounting service. Having had so many different jobs it's hard to pick which one is the best. My work history shows that I'm pretty slow to find something I like but once I do never seem like changing (except for starting university).

My experience with this job has shown me that there is nothing more important than following your own path and not judging people who don't do the same as you. It doesn't matter how many hours you work or how much money you earn if it makes you happy. This job has shown me a lot about myself and how I can live. It's given me the opportunity to learn about my family, friends, relationships and most importantly what it means to be alive.

I have started my own blog that has been listed on the top 25 in Australia for health related posts: http://www.cravehealth.com/blog/ and have been accepted into the MBA program at the Business School of Sydney University starting end of next year: http://www.bsosydney.edu.au/MBADegree/mba-Programs/Pages/MBA-JD-program-overview.aspx

With this in mind I have decided to take a break from full-time employment. During my time at the company I made friends with two people that are more like brothers to me today. They have seen me grow more than anybody else in my life has to date and both have been very supportive in helping me achieve what I set out to do.

From now on I will work a maximum of 10 hours per week at the office with any spare time being put into making this blog and my other projects successful. The next step for the company is to move into a larger office, hire new staff and register for GST before hopefully taking on another partner by the end of 2012.

Since this was a pretty long post I figured it deserved a list of major events and what I learned from them in no particular order:

Ummm, that's about it. It's been an amazing experience working for myself and for the people who have been involved. If anybody wants to know anything about accounting in Sydney or just wants to hear more stories from my blog then feel free to email me at: tom@adviceformyself.com

I hope that you have enjoyed this short story about my experience with ultra. I would love to hear any comments or stories about your own experiences in life and how it has affected things for you. Feel free to email me at: tom@adviceformyself.com

Regards, Tom.

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Conclusion

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I want to thank everyone who helped me over the past year with my job and new projects. Without them this would not have been possible. It's nice to be able to meet some of you in person as well. I know that next year is going to be even more amazing than this one and hope that you can join me on the ride.

It's been a great year on a professional level but it has also been an amazing time for my personal development too (which has really surprised me). Since living on my own with no family or friends around I have come out of my shell in ways that would've never been possible otherwise.