CONCENTRATION 757Repeat what you wish to remember, a number of times, while at
the same time concentrating your mind on it. The common failing of
not being able to remember the names of other people, which most
of us have, is due entirely to the fact that we do not properly record
the name in the first place. When you are introduced to a new person,
repeat their name four or five times, first making sure you understood
the name correctly. If the name is similar to that of someone else you
know, associate the two names, thinking of both as you repeat the name
of the new person.
The law of association is the most important feature of a well-
trained memory and it is also a very simple law.
If someone gives you a letter to be mailed, look at the letter, then
increase its size in your Imagination and see it hanging over a mailbox.
Fix in your mind a letter approximately the size of a door, then asso-
ciate it with a mailbox, and you will find that the first mailbox you pass
on the street will cause you to recall that big, odd-looking letter that
you have in your pocket.
Suppose you were introduced to a lady whose name was Elizabeth
Shearer and you wished to be able to recall her name at will. As you
repeat her name, associate with it a large pair of scissors, perhaps
ten feet in length, and Queen Elizabeth, and you will observe that
recalling either the large pair of scissors or the name of Queen Eliza-
beth will also help you recall the name of Elizabeth Shearer.
Nearly ten years ago a friend gave me his residence telephone
number in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and although I did not write it
down, I remember it today as well as I did the day he gave it to me.
The exchange and number were Lakeview 265 I. At the time he gave
it to me we were standing at the railroad station, in sight of Lake
Michigan.
Therefore I used the lake as an associated object with which to
file the name of the telephone exchange. It so happened that the
telephone number was made up of the age of my brother, who was