Archive for Brain Training
Let Your Perceptual Cage Be Rattled
Posted by: | CommentsWhat we see is not always what something is. If that’s true,how would we even know that?
Perception, which guides how we as humans behave in the world, is shaken by neuroscientist-artist Beau Lotto in his TED talk which explores what is so-called ‘real’ vs. ‘illusion’ . Ultimately, what is going on is a combination of the bio-science of vision and contextual framing.
Once we understand how we might each see what appears to be one thing can actually be many other things depending on our perceptual or visual framework or context, we are one step closer to being more empathetic, compassionate and sensitized to cultural differences as a species. We might literally act differently once we ‘get it’ that our certainty of view stands on shakey ground…the same shakey ground as the next guy with his or her certain views.
Bring it on! Enjoy this profound talk, and leave a few minutes afterward to let your cage be rattled. It’s worth the 16 minutes.
Productive Ecstasy-Little Drummer Boy
Posted by: | CommentsProductive ecstasy? Whatever can I be talking about?
I facilitated a workshop over the summer where I delved into ‘creative ecstasy’, the equivalent of getting into the thrill of the creative ‘flow zone’ . This is the state of mind and engagement where you are so fully involved at a level of skill and challenge that you lose track of time and your efforts sail along with zing, flair and panache. In such a state, individual productivity tends to skyrocket, as we are not distracted, focus is clear and sharp and all components required for forward motion and success are in alignment. In an ecstatic collaboration the productivity can even be multiplied since the sum is greater than the parts.
Below is a link to a YouTube video of Howard, a 4 year old kid, playing drums. Have no fear, he actually plays very well. What’s cool is Read More→
Dynamic Change to Stay Viable
Posted by: | CommentsSo how about dynamic change from the business perspective? From my experience, moving onto business continuity is a two-fold process. One part is identifying a core set of values that coalesce into our business or company identity. Simultaneously, a company also has to meet and match the needs and desires of their targeted customers.
Ironically, if you take a company like Nokia as an example, you might not recognize the company from their chain of products over the past few decades, which began with paper products, rubber tires and cables and evolved over the years into success in mobile or cellular telephony. How can you even say it’s the same company? What was the thread that lead from one product or market to another? Oil-based products that met consumer-based needs or wants in a way that radically improved their experience. They consistently scoped the market for needed products or services and rode the crest of the wave toward market dominance. So while the core products changed over 150 plus years, the underlying ethos and access to available resources &market-based opportunities remained the same with Nokia.
The whole process is dynamic, and requires regular updating on the part of the organization. That way, the growth and evolution of a company stays in synch with the market as well as with staff development and technological advances. When this is the case, productivity goes up plus staff and client loyalty soar as they feel listened to, supported and valued.
Change Your WorkWorld by Changing Yourself First
Posted by: | CommentsStarting with yourself as a core and connecting element in your business, realize you have the defining role in whether your work experience is enjoyable, meaningful, productive and a match for you. By changing something within yourself that sends out a different vibe, whether it’s pleasure in dealing with your customers or colleagues, or satisfaction in the substance of the workaday tasks, you can set the tone by tuning into your own attitude and noticing how you are spending your time and energy.
Sometimes a mis-match can be as simple as recognizing you have fallen prey to Read More→
Shape-shifting as Renewal & Revitalization
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s a case of ‘out with the old, in with the new’. It’s all about resilience!
Every seven years or so, human bodies replace every cell in every organ, each at a different rate depending on size and density, apparently. I say ‘apparently’, because even though scientific research tells us this is happening, to look at ourselves and others, we’d hardly know it. The only evidence we have of old cells shedding are the few flakes of skin left on our sheets or as bathtub ring every morning.
So we are effectively a new being even though we appear to stay the same person. How does that happen? What is holding our identity together during the ongoing process of change? In humans there is cellular coding that reproduces cells with the holographic imprint of, in my case, Donna-ness.
Reinventing our business can follow the same process of continuously updating and renewing our marketing, product and services, systems and equipment while still maintaining our organizational identity.
How do we do that? What might that look like for you?
Please leave your comments and recommendations below. I’ll pick up from here next time.
Creative Simplification
Posted by: | CommentsWe rarely think of a function of creativity as simplification, but it’s a useful trait. How do we do it? Seek streamlining of processes, procedures, ways of doing things…Here’s one simple technique from Dr. Edward DeBono, inventor of Lateral Thinking.
Look around and choose 3 items you can see- chandelier, calculator, fan. Now pick any 3 other words randomly (Notebook, CD, external harddrive…) and see if you can use one of the words in the second set of 3 to simplify one of the first words.
So, recognizing that some ideas come to us fully formed (rarely) and that some need further development, here are some possible ideas-
- the spiral binding on the notebook makes me think of a fan moving around the ceiling to cover a wider area
- external harddrive makes me think that a calculator could store certain regular expenditures so we don’t have to start from the beginning each time
- CD is writable on one side (not on the other) so maybe a chandelier crystals can reflect iridescence in one light and have a strobe or dimmer effect from another perspective
You just look for connection between any of the elements and remembering the focus is to simplify, then anything is fair game, whether far-fetched or not.
Your turn- practice with the items above or substitute one set and try to find simplifications, or just start with another set of lists, keeping them random. Have fun and be aware it’s also serious fun with real potential outcomes of value!
Speaking Persuasively for Impact & Sales
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Table Talk for Impact
Imagine knowing the “real” reason why people buy and knowing how to push these hot buttons
so you could close a lot more sales or at least get people to respond as you wish them to (for all
the right reasons, of course).
You can… it’s all here, as explained in the following video telling you about Armand Morin’s Speaker Training July 20, 21 & 22 that is sales and impact oriented. It’s coming up (in Las Vegas) very soon, and allows you to bring a guest- essentially 2 for the price of one. If you are one of the earlier registrants, he will also cover your hotel bill. And Armand,who makes over $20/year on Internet Marketing and between $4million and $12 million /year speaking, knows a thing or two about it.
As a ‘teacher-type’ who in the past hasn’t had a strong focus on speaking for profits, I will also be there honing my techniques both for profits and overall impact of my speaking efforts. I’d love to meet up and get to know what message you want to get out!
http://budurl.com/AMspeakerPX (this is my affiliate link, and I stand to make a commision should you purchase by clicking here. It will NOT cost you any more, and I will be grateful!)
One student used these subtle (but VERY powerful) Read More→
Ask Yourself “Why Am I Doing This?”
Posted by: | CommentsWe just had Independence Day. It always makes me think about the nature of Freedom, which I count as one of my key values, and how much I manifest freedom in my own life. The daily reality, however, is that I have a propensity towards being TOO busy, which means I lack a certain amount of time freedom.
So I came across some questions from Gary Null in Living in the Moment, which stopped me in my tracks. These questions were really useful for me as a reminder I can make different choices…and hopefully for you too:
Why am I doing this? Why am I saying that? Why am I spilling my guts when it will change nothing? Or, now my questions, How can I take different actions so things WILL change? Will taking these actions lead me where I am trying to go? Is this is the best use of my time?
Whatever questions you ask of yourself, the key point is that at any moment you can make different choices and course correct. Or just stop, breathe, and consciously decide what to do next. That way you are more in control of your efforts and energy, and are well on the way to regaining both your freedom and your mental resilience!
InSight Frames Thinking Tools- Overview
Posted by: | CommentsOver the past month, we had a chance to overview the 10 InSight Frames thinking tools which will allow you to develop your thinking to be faster, better & easier. While there is a brief learning period to get familiar with each of the 10 tools, they are simple and easy to use and gain results from.
I agree, it takes some focus and deliberate effort to use the tool approach to thinking, but from my own experience, one you know how to think using tools like these, you can cut through mounds of information and make use of what you need from it much more readily.
Remember too, that the tools are best applied when you have a clear thinking focus issue (single and simple or complex). Very often, the act of defining or refining your thinking focus is half the battle in moving your thinking and action plans forward.
One more time, as a review.
1) Spotlight Frame- focus which can be broad or narrow (relative terms)
2) Periscope Frame- heads up and looking all around to identify relevant factors
3) Bifocal Binoculars Frame- tuning into Read More→
InSight Framework for Better Results
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Love in a Cup
How cool is this- drinking tea and ‘feelin’ the love’! How did this happen- liquid holds no shape… but guess what, not only the saucer is heart-shaped, but so is the cup. So the heart shape of the cup holds the tea as heart-shaped.
In the same way, information makes its way into our brains through the portals of our senses, and is then shaped both by our vantage point, or perspective, and by our perception. The same information coming into two people’s brains will have filtered through several layers of processing before a thought or feeling even hits their mind. And it will appear different to both based on their filtering. In turn, once the information inputs hit the brain and cause either a thought first then a feeling, or a feeling leading to a thought, each person will interpret the information their own way. It will appear ‘true ‘ to them, based on their own filtering. And then, they will act on that information, maybe with the same actions, maybe different. An outsider mlight see two people behaving the same and wrongly assume they have the same motivtion or intention. We just can’t tell what someone is thinking, we can only see the outward behaviors. The above process explains the InSight Framework, moving you from Read More→
