In 2003, I was working as a financial advisor. And during one of our monthly office meetings, the branch manager brought in a guest speaker to help all of us (20+ advisors) become more successful by tapping into the power of our memory. How cool!
 
Within minutes, we were blown away by the speaker’s memory demonstrations, including his ability to recall the name of every person in the room. With an opportunity to learn his techniques and attend his 2-day seminar (at $495/person), nearly every one of us did not hesitate to sign up on the spot. I remember feeling disappointed because we had to wait nearly 3 months to attend, as his upcoming seminar was already sold out. I also remember asking him if this would help both of my school-aged children but already knew the answer as soon as the question left my lips. “Of course, how could it not?” I remember thinking what a great investment this would be in their education, both then and for their future. So I enrolled them in the training as well. And that is the first time that I met Sean O’Neil.
 
My youngest was really looking forward to the class. But my oldest? Not so much. However, after completing the first day, both were excited and having so much fun. Their comment was, “Why can’t all of our teachers and classes be like this?” And although it was a training geared towards adults, other parents brought their kids knowing that these skills would be universal and applicable to their students as well. “Where was this when we were in school?” was a question periodically yelled out by audience members. I agreed. Yet these skills are still not taught in schools today. 
 
I will admit that I am no different than most parents when it comes to their children. I want my kids to have every possible advantage growing up that I didn’t. And if something is going to help them, what is there to think about?
 
When my son was age 11, his baseball coach said he was exceptionally skilled and recommended a top-rated hitting coach, who I hired shortly thereafter. I drove 30 minutes one-way to pick up my son, drove another 30 minutes to the hitting lesson, paid nearly $100 for a one-hour session, watched each session, and then did the drive again. This was a weekly commitment for 12 consecutive weeks. And within 3 weeks, my son’s hitting skill exploded, not only increasing his confidence but helping him develop a pro-caliber swing at a very young age. Plain and simple, no matter the time sacrifice or financial commitment, I was willing to do whatever it took to help my son become more successful. That’s what we do as parents. 
 
So, when the opportunity came along for only a few hundred-dollar investment to help both my kids develop a life skill like memory improvement, it was (pardon the pun) a no-brainer.
 
After attending the memory seminar, Sean and I became good friends. Being so excited about everything I just learned, we even discussed working together. But life got in the way with a divorce, and it just was not the right timing. And while my kids and I practiced the memory techniques after the seminar, we got away from consistently using the training, as I was with my kids only on the weekends. I personally used the techniques daily but did not have any kind of system for them to plug into when they were not with me.
 
Sean and I eventually became best of friends, and I continued to practice these memory techniques and hone my skills, especially that of remembering names and faces. The techniques were easy to understand and easy to implement, so much so that I have been blessed to become ranked #1 in my Business Network International (BNI) networking group of 89 members.  We have become the 5^th largest chapter in the United States and have led the State of Arizona, receiving numerous accolades. 
 
I often call Sean to share with him all the different ways I continue to utilize his training. As a matter of fact, being a student of his content since 2003, I’ve created some additional techniques of my own and have helped Sean update and create even more memory training content, especially for students.
 
Then in 2020, everyone remembers what happened… the pandemic hit. And soon, students were struggling with long distance learning, zoom fatigue, and social disconnectedness. Parents were under an unimaginable amount of pressure and stress.  And against the odds, teachers had to change their entire lesson plans and their approach to accommodate everybody. Everyone was challenged. I remember thinking, “I bet the schools wish they had access to memory training right about now.”    
 
Then about a year into the pandemic, something unexpected happened when one of my children came home. I was feeling a bit nostalgic, so I asked her if she remembered attending the memory class with me so long ago. She said, “OMG yes, that was so much fun! I still remember things he taught us.” I told her I did not believe her. “Then test me,” she said.  So, I asked her about a grocery list that was taught to us and wondered if she could recall what #4 was. She immediately replied, “Milk.” And do you know what, she was right. Then she confidently said, “Now give me a hard one.” I could not believe it. Well, I could, because I was still using the techniques myself. I just did not realize that they would still work years later after not even reviewing it.
 
Then, a few weeks later, my son came home. I asked him if he, too, remembered the memory class. Except his response was a little different and less enthusiastic. He acted like he did not know what I was talking about. Only after 10 minutes of me badgering him, “Remember when…” did he finally admit to kind of remembering the class. So, I asked him if he still remembered anything from the training, like when the instructor was teaching us how to remember word-for-word, and he taught us the Preamble to the Constitution (We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…). He was in the kitchen making a sandwich, and he just ignored me. So, I did the only thing I could think of… I said, “Yeah, I didn’t think you’d be able to do it,” and I started walking away. He came chasing after me, “Wait, wait!” He started reciting it and missed only one word out of 52.
 
It was at that point that I remember thinking to myself that every student needs to learn these success principles and techniques.  And not only do they need to learn this stuff, but that they would want to learn this. I had the immediate thought that I needed to meet with Sean. This is what we need to be doing! We need to be helping kids and their parents. So, I called him, and we met the very next day. I said, “Listen, this is going to sound CRAZY… but I’ve got a WAY for us to not only work together, but also change countless lives.” A day later, we started CRAZY WAYS.
 
And now we are fortunate to have the opportunity to help make a difference and shape young minds with student success secrets that we wished we both had when we were in school.