Matthew Jones
I teach the science skill acquisition. My background is biology, chemistry, and neurobiology. I have over a decade experience applying neuroscience to students, programs I built for businesses including an Olympic facility, and used all of this to set a world record in an extreme sport. My mission is to help you master learning, avoid burn out and not waste weeks, months or years of effort, so you can be your most capable, adaptable self, and build the life you want.
You are far more capable than you realize.
Matthew Jones
Your brain has one rule...
Synaptic Plasticity is the norm. Not the exception.
Yet we used to treat this as a limited time ability, and in many ways society still does.
You brain loses it's ability to learn and hardens after age 25 right?
That was based off of neuroimaging studies, where due to limited funding, the researchers stopped imaging people once they reached their mid twenties. They concluded brain development continued at least into the mid-20s.
Popular media, and eventually viral social media posts, dropped the phrase "at least" and turned a temporary boundary of data collection into an absolute biological expiration date.
The fundamental rule of the brain seems to be neuroplasticity. It never truly stops adapting, pruning, or wiring new connections.
While children may have open sensitive periods, as adults we now simply have to intentionally want to change.
Focused attention, eating healthy for low inflammation, and as I've found understanding a few rules like the goldilocks zone seem to go a long way.
Be well friends,
- Matt
2 months ago | [YT] | 49
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Matthew Jones
Reading signals became the most valuable skill I ever learned.
Every time you try to change something about yourself...
- The way you talk and act.
- How calm you stay under pressure.
- How responsive your brain is to learning new skills.
- The people you spend time with.
- The work you choose to do.
Your life is constantly giving you feedback.
The problem we ignore it.
I know I did.
I spent:
Two years at a McDojo as a kid because I wanted to get my money's worth.
Two years in a toxic medical job because I was afraid to leave.
One year training next to someone who made me miserable because I wanted to land a double corkscrew.
Far too long struggling with speech before finally filming myself over and over.
Being able to see what worked, what failed and adjust as fast as humanly possible has resulted in more progress in the last two years, than I dare say most of my prior life.
At least it feels that way.
Every decision leaves signals.
Some tell you:
Keep going.
Others tell you:
Change something.
The faster you embrace signals.
The faster your life changes.
Now I almost think in two lists.
(Generic version)
Do:
Talk to people already living the life you're trying to build.
Double down on things producing real progress.
Pay attention when something consistently works.
Fix bottlenecks fast (business, skill progressions,
Don't:
Stay because you've already invested time.
Surround yourself with people who reinforce limiting beliefs.
Keep doing something just because it's familiar.
Blame outside issues for mistakes I can fix.
The list is more detailed than that, but you get the idea.
Ruthlessly read signals for everything that matters to you.
Adjust quickly.
Repeat.
That's been one of the biggest accelerators in my life.
Be well,
– Matt
2 months ago | [YT] | 39
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Matthew Jones
Humans are incredibly adaptable.
Beyond that the capabilities of our brains and nervous system seem to increase when put under appropriate stress or stimulus.
Example: When you start learning your first new language regions of your brain involved in speech recognition and production aren't used to being worked out.
However the neurons and all their helpers get used to the heavy lifting. They respond faster, build new structures, and pull from everything they've done before to solve any new thing better, sooner.
Learning any new language, or just communicating after that gets easier because you upgrade so much of yourself in the process of acquiring the new thing.
Same thing goes for solving problems in any field, with related fields also becoming easier to work through next thanks to things like overlap.
Of course completely different fields like chemistry, speaking Japanese, and movement skills don't overlap.
But get decent at one, and related skills become much easier to tackle for the rest of your life.
You don't just acquire skills.
You build capability.
You are more capable in more ways than you may realize.
- Matt
2 months ago | [YT] | 38
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Matthew Jones
I grew up with speech problems where people looked at me like I was doomed to sit a cubicle with my head down for the rest of my life...
Fixed that and was paid to be in a professional play.
I had scoliosis and the doctor said "you won't be much good at sports"...
Trained crazy tricks with stunt actors.
Wanted to learn about the nervous system as a pre-med student but was told I might not be smart enough...
Graduated with multiple science degrees and started using them to help businesses and students.
Your nervous system is incredibly adaptable.
Mine changed my life.
Yours can too.
- Matt
3 months ago | [YT] | 40
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Matthew Jones
One of the things that surprised me when I started teaching..
I'd have students apologize before they even tried.
One student Tracy one her first day said "If I don't fail then there's nothing to make you not like me".
It was up to me show them just how epic your nervous system is at transforming you into someone capable of handling and doing more than you thought possible.
Sometimes we just need someone to believe in us.
So anyone who needs it...
You capable of solving any problem.
And making yourself way capable than you thought possible in the process.
- Matt
3 months ago | [YT] | 9
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Matthew Jones
One thing I noticed while helping one of the larger business I ever went too...
the owner gathered everyone together for a staff meeting and said...
"We're losing about $9,000 a month." So the business was in the red.
Then she said,
"And by the way... no more one-star reviews. We have too many"
Most of the teachers seemed to believe that students must have the "talent". (magic sparkles fly)
Which meant you do the thing fully correct, and right now, or else.
I remember thinking...
The problem wasn't that students lacked talent.
The problem was that too many people believed talent was the reason.
Over the next few days I watched students learn skills they'd been told were impossible.
Not because they suddenly became talented.
Because someone finally gave their nervous system a path to build the skill.
I don't think potential is nearly as rare as people think.
- Matt
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 31
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Matthew Jones
One thing I noticed after years of teaching...
I don't think most people quit because they're lazy.
I think they quit because they stop seeing progress.
Those are two completely different problems.
One is solved with motivation.
The other is solved by fixing the learning process.
I think we've confused those two for a very long time.
What's something you almost gave up on because it felt like you weren't making progress?
3 months ago | [YT] | 33
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Matthew Jones
One of the classes I taught in my program was for 7-9 year old's.
I remember looking at one of my students, Trent, and saying,
"We just need to go through some steps to get to the inverted raiz."
Trent then laughed and said “Yeah… right… steps are kind of dumb”.
And then proceeded to yolo himself into the foam pit.
It was only later when I said “There’s so many skills, too many. I can’t get to everything I want to do without following how the nervous system likes to learn.” that Trent changed his mind.
That and he was done flinging himself around hoping something would go right.
As research has found, it seems that when skills are similar not only do the similar parts “transfer” or just get reused…
But the new skill is learned much faster, new parts and all.
The friction you first experience from taking the time to build a new skill pays off for anything else coming your way that bears any resemblance.
Make it an adventure,
-Matt
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 16
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Matthew Jones
One of the coolest things I've learned about the nervous system...
It doesn't care how hard a practice session felt.
This gives me flashbacks to spending hours grinding a skill for almost no improvement.
Your nervous system cares how much useful information it extracted.
Those aren't always the same thing.
I remember leaving a genetics study session exhausted without remembering much...
And I've seen students make an adjustment and improve more in fifteen minutes than they had in previous classes
Your nervous system isn't counting effort.
It's counting the value of what you're doing.
- Matt
3 months ago | [YT] | 26
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Matthew Jones
Sometimes I fall into the trap of thinking progress means reaching the finished goal.
Land the backflip now.
Learn the language.
Get the promotion.
Create a YouTube series people come back for. (Somedays I wonder if I will ever "make it".)
Something that always drops my anxiety or fear...
is turning my mind to just hitting the next stepping stone.
Taking a skill a bit further.
Reading signals of what people do and don't like about the channel.
Learning to pause when I speak and not ramble.
Achieve a small skill or piece of understanding they didn't have yesterday.
That brings me back to reality.
The goal is stepping stones, not insane leaps.
The nervous system seems to learn best one stone at a time anyways.
Be well,
Matt
3 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 16
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