Your brain is an ever-evolving dynamic organ that is involved in every aspect of who you are and what you do. Caring for your brain so it looks out for you takes the shape of simple self-protection as well as the factors mentioned previously.

Protect your brain from physical trauma- by wearing helmets as appropriate, minimizing jarring contact sports, and keeping away from severe jolts to the head and neck. Brain scans of NFL athletes are showing nasty damage that will dramatically affect their future health, not to mention current pain and problems.

Protect your brain from emotional stress, as emotional trauma changes brain function. All your systems go on hyperalert, which in turn impinges on ability to sleep, degree of anxiety, inability to handle modern stress, and physical symptoms like headaches and muscle tension.

Protect your brain from toxic exposure, be it pesticides, solvents, prescription or illicit drugs, alcohol or even high doses of caffeine. Overexposure to these substances can kill or maim brain cells…

And, protect your brain from sleep deprivation. It will affect your ability to learn and remember, so last minute cramming is hindered by dumbing down your tired brain. You simply lack the ‘fire-power’ that allows your dedrites (brain cells) to fire off when stimulated in order to make congnitive connections. Lack of sleep can cause some weight gain due to abnormal horomonal activity.  Studies also show that sleep deprivation can make you psychotic- why do you think it’s used so frequently as a torture technique?

Sad to say, but hugely fascinating to see,  when you go on Dr. Amen’s site, http://www.amenclinic.com , you will see scans of  the effect of brain trauma caused by all sorts of things, including rough sports….  Then again, there are also images of the effects of things many of us use everyday, excess caffeine and alcohol.

 Life is full of trade-offs…some of them more agreeable than others.  Protecting your brain is one area where you should take full responsibility and have full respect for benefits and consequences of your actions. Now, go have yourself an awesome day!

“The brain is an organ of learning, loving and behaving”, he says. 

I just had the great pleasure of meeting Dr. Daniel Amen of the Amen Clinics. That man is a walking encyclopedia of cutting edge knowledge on optimizing our life by caring for our brain. So, who’s gonna care for your brain besides Dr Amen? You’d better step up to the plate on your own behalf.  As the old commercial goes, you’ll be glad you did!

While there is sophistication galore  in his methods, actual steps you can take to make sure your brain is ticking along in top form are simple. For starters, here are a few things you can do:

• Take a multiple vitamin everyday, to compensate for our poor modern diet.
• Take Omega 3 fatty acid supplements for multiple health benefits.
• Pay attention to what you are eating. Start by writing down what you take in every day for about 2 weeks, then you can make adjustments based on recommended standards of what’s good for your brain. (more on this is an upcoming post)  As Dr. Amen says, “calorie restriction is a brain longevity activity.”
• Exercise regularly. Ideal is at least 30 minuttes daily where you get your heart rate above normal.
• Learn something new every day and write about it in your journal. Not only will you be keeping up to date on areas of interest to you, but in adult learning, reflection combined with knowledge and experience  is the route to wisdom. 
• Meditate or sit still for about 12-15 minutes daily. Mind Chi exercises are perfect to ease your way into relaxation and mental clarity. (I will post about this next time as a refresher.)

Caring for your brain so it looks out for you is basically good practice for you all around. Why not start today and boost your mental horsepower immediately? Giddyup!

‘A’ stands for the ‘attitude to look for alternatives’.

A creative orientation invites an exploration of multiple options or alternatives before choosing the best one, based on why you need the idea and what the context is. Sometimes the ‘best’ idea overall is simply too expensive or too time-consuming for practical implementation at this time, can’t be undertaken by the staff you have or isn’t supported by current market conditions. Then you move to try on other ideas for size and fit and take action.

 By knowing how to generate multiple alternatives, you know you will never be forced to choose a bad option just because it’s the only one or because it is the easy way out.

Inviting alternatives from the group allows for ideas of many people to be heard, not just the loudest, most forceful or senior person’s suggestion.

Finally, for now, having an ever-refreshing pool of alternative ideas to work from means you can always be developing into the future even while addressing current needs. What’s fascinating about this process is exemplified by the quote, “A mind once stretched never returns to its original size.”

 When you explore alternative options, even hypothetical ones, then you have already begun laying a neural trace (physically in the brain) and opening the door to easier access to possibilities. As your mind incubates on the notional ideas, they now increase the field of liklihood for something else to be considered. Whether you are exploring the possibility of losing natural resources and the follow-on impact and needs, seeking to match existing products and services to new markets, or imagining what life would be like having one person as your boss over another, just the mindful consideration of the options creates mental movement and begins to restructure your mental architecture to include the new information at basis.

 Take some areas of your business- say, telephone reception, marketing practices or accounting procedures. See if you can generate at least 5 alternative ways to do those things better or differently. Then notice if there is anything there, or a modified version thereof, you can actually implement immediately that will improve your effectiveness or efficiency. If so, why not do it? If there’s nothing to do better at this time because you feel you’ve got that handled, then feel confident with that and move on to explore another focus area. 5-10 minutes a week on this simple process can improve your business exponentially over time.

Among creative mindsets, the B Mindset stands for: belief there’s a better way and how you behave based on your varying perceptions. This is a two-part Mindset.

 The belief there’s a better way continues the search for alternatives, knowing that by making the effort to widen the idea pool you are likely to choose and develop better ideas than you would by settling for the first one that comes along. A powerful side benefit is that by having to explore, select and choose among ideas, you are more confident in the ones you do go with; it serves as a kind of validation. This becomes extremely useful both when reporting to senior management and when defending your choices to colleagues or clients. When you believe there may be a better way to do something, your antennas are always up in a sweep of the possibility horizon. You sniff out unrecognized opportunities, undervalued resources, shortcuts, upgraded new ways to do an old task or look at an issue. Sometimes the focus is on new and better ways to utilize an existing product or service, sometimes on new products or services you could create to meet an emerging need, cool new ways to tap and delight your market, alternative processes to get the job done more efficiently or effectively, or sensing that some person would be a great fit for some project.

 As for behavior, the brain uses it powers of perception to filter inputs in order to select appropriate outputs. How we perceive anything hitting our sensory radar screen (inputs) effects how we subsequently behave (outputs). In between there are other cognitive stages, such as recognizing feelings & interpretations attached to our perceptions and choosing from multiple ways to respond.

With Creative Mindset B, and our willingness to seek a better way before we choose how to behave, we are more likely to have a thoughtful, positive-oriented behavior rather than a purely kneejerk emotional response. Think of two recent situations where you made a decision around a colleague or customer. Perhaps someone asked for a refund, or a colleague didn’t get a piece of work in by the deadline, etc. Notice how their approach to whatever happened caused you to perceive, think and feel, and how you responded as a result. Think about how you could have responded differently by generating alternatives, some of which you think are better ways. Now think how they could have handled things differently so that you would have had a more satisfactory outcome for both of you. Now think of something you can say or do to suggest a best-practice approach in similar situations. Then either share that with your colleagues or implement it for yourself. You are playing here like a puzzle with both yours and their ideas of ways to do things and possible ways you would behave in regard to those perceptions.

Even if you just become aware of this mindset at work, you are in for a surprise at the scope and latitude in the smorgasbord of options laid out before you.

‘C’ mindset invites us to challenge  the staus quo, ‘what is’,  in the Spirit of ’search and discover’ rather than ’search and destroy’.

We know from science and life that it is easier to move an object that is already moving than one standing still. And it’s usually easier to move an object that is tipped on edge than one standing flat on the ground. Since creativity is about ‘mental movement’ one of the ways to get that is to escape the status quo by pushing against it. How we do that is to tip it on it’s edge, not in direct confrontation that would be like pushing it flat, but by nudging it out of balance by looking at it in a different way. Or gain movement by changing the surrounding circumstances that caused that thing to be the way it is. This happens to us all the time in the real world, like what’s happening now to print media and news coverage in the age of the internet and social networks. They are being forced to reinvent themselves, or die. Smart organizations would have seen this coming and used Mindset C to prepare in advance.

When we know how to take advantage of Creative Mindset C we can role play situations in advance- ask ‘what if’ questions and play a provocative ‘devil’s advocate’ role.

The trick is NOT to degenerate, especially under pressure, to what I refer to as ’search and destroy’- a kind of ‘out to getcha’ attitude that is rarely constructive. Rather, you choose a creative focus either because of perceived need or for advance planning purposes, and doggedly seek alternatives, new ways to deliver the same or similar products, hunt for new applications or markets, find gaps that R & D can help you fulfil over time and so on. This is more of a ’search and discover’ process, which should yield constructive, even if not yet fully developed, options for staying engaged in a changing marketplace. And it’s fun!

Think of 3 issues you are facing in your enterprise: maybe technical gadgetry, methods of marketing, hiring trusted virtual staff, etc. Poke and probe like a cat playing with a mouse, looking for weak spots, areas of strength to leverage, placing the issue in a new circumstance to generate a stronger position and whatever else comes up. As a result, you may decide to make some changes to abandon or shore up your position, or not…but at least you’ll have a deeper knowledge of factors involved for when you must make a move.

At the Florida Job Summit last week my colleague & I introduced the iSmart Revolution as a way to leverage brain-power of the workforce, referred to as ‘Talent’. This applies for unemployed-those who have lost jobs; underemployed- for those who are in jobs that do not use their full skill and capacity;  those redesigning their existing jobs or transferring to new jobs; and for students not yet in paid employment. 21st century workers need to change their paradigm, or model, of how it is to get and keep employment. The newer model is to be entrepreneurial and be prepared to work in teams for relatively short-term contracts.

We are suggesting updated ways to learn core skills of thinking and creativity in order to be able to keep up with the pace of change. Application of thinking & creativity tools allows for new ideas about employment possiblitites, along with thinking through difficult situations on the job, creating alternative products & services or markets to sell them to.  And of course, solving problems through expanding perceptions, gaining focus, streamlining disfunctional systems , or just plain old decision-making can all be developed to a great degree of finesse.

When coupled with an entrepreneurial skillset, targeted learning, achievements and goals are easier to reach for and attain, as a results-focus is built into the process.

According to need, the programs are waiting in the wings to market or still need developing. Please visit         Retraining America Now.com .

As a reforming academic or sorts, this is one lesson I have been learning of late even as I am taking the journey of retooling for an online presence. Study for its own sake is a lovely thing, and necessary for input of knowledge and ideation, but not sufficient to drive an economic imperative! So, I too am participating in the iSmart Revolution as I further cultivate relevant skills for the current marketplace. 

What are you doing to keep up?

I just had the experience of spending a day in Orlando with top movers and shakers in Florida at the Florida Job Summit, hosted by Sen. Mark Haridopolous and Rep. Dean Cannon.  This was a follow-on event after Pres. Obama’s Job Summit in December 2009, for which my colleague & I were on the visitor waiting list…(behind the Salahis, perhaps?)

We sat next to and held discussions with Gov. Crist, state legislators, university chancellors, presidents and professors, thought leaders and idea-mongers in arenas across the board who have an active interest in generating viable solutions to our current economic woes and joblessness.  It was amazing how accessible these high level people were, and how willing and eager they were to learn from the public, consider practical creative suggestions and make effective changes. That is democracy in action- engagement and informed action!

My colleague and I represented Retraining America Now, putting forward ideas on the iBrain Revolution and developing intellectual capital, ( or TALENT, as it’s referred to), through learning thinking and creativity skills in brain-friendly ways and by applying them to effective and efficient value creation. By instigating entrepreneurial thinking in our youth as well as existing job holders and seekers, we up our chances of keeping up with change and creating cool new ways to forge a better future. It also makes learning way more fun and relevant!

I’ll follow up next week with some of the trends observed from the range of discussions. Meanwhile ask yourself, if you lost everything- as many of the people in Haiti have with the recent earthquake, how would you make a comeback? What would your newly designed llife look like and how would you create it?

Step put and step up to being a creative force in your own life!

People care, and given a chance to help out in need, will band together and pull off amazing feats to meet practical and human needs. They just need to know, and to feel included to offer their skills, resources and TLC. The recent horrific quake in Haiti is no different, except that the medium of inclusion this time was and is social media.

Toby Smith, director of Internet communications at CARE, says, “Facebook, Twitter, and other social media are great ways for people to get the latest information on emergencies. CARE has been giving updates that have been reposted or retweeted by celebrities.. . . We’ve also used these channels to solicit donations. The total audience is huge.”

“This is an important tool for the new generation of philanthropists, and we pay just as much attention to those media as we do to normal channels of support,” said Foley, of the American Red Cross.

Can social media mobilize as much money, blood, blankets and food for Haiti as older means? Too soon to tell. But there’s no doubt: They’re how we connect now when catastrophe hits.”  The full article follows:     http://bit.ly/5uF0dd

Even if we can’t be there physically or don’t know Haitionas personally, there are many ways to be of service, both materially, emotionally and spiritually.  Just tune in. Please bring your unique talents, skills and human caring to assist in creating a planetary resonance of hope, sustainability and kindness to a people and a piece of land in dire need of it all.

May God bless us all, that we remember the power of our creative connections and make the world a better place as a result.

Imagination is the ability to create mental pictures- to see in your mind’s eye what is not physically present in front of you, and in fact, may not even yet exist. We all imagine, some more consciously, powerfully and constructively than others.

 Many who think they cannot visualize or imagine have no trouble worrying in graphic detail. And what is worrying other than imagining- in combinations of thoughts, feelings and pictures- what might happen, or could happen even though it hasn’t happened yet, and may never happen- usually for the worse?

 I suggest we look at how to harness and develop our imagination for constructive and creative purposes, starting with some simple exercises. Go ahead, play the ‘what do the clouds look like?’ game, by noticing what shapes look like a familiar animal, item or shape of a country. There is no right or wrong here, just whatever comes to mind. Now move onto real items that you see an image of in your mind- which is using your image-ination. Recall what your current front door looks like- color, shape, surroundings. Mine is a deep purple, windowless, surrounded by a carved stone molding and two plant urns either side with hanging plants. Now recall another front door from your past on a home or place of employment or other place. I am thinking of an oversized 3 inch thick richly grained wood door on a 250 year old house I lived in in England. How about you? What is, literally, coming to mind? Practice some more by conjuring up images of a loved one (and notice how it instantly creates feelings in your body), then remember a scene from a special time, place or moment in your life. Now recall a time where you achieved some sort of stellar performance- perhaps at work, on the sports filed, in a classroom, playing an instrument or speaking in front of a crowd. Recreate the surrounding environment and circumstances. Very often, tapping into such images also brings back related smells, sounds and feelings in full-spectrum sensory glory. You can even use the senses to work in reverse- like when the mere smell of a fresh-baked apple pie takes me instantly back to sitting around my grandmother’s dining table as a kid. I can see it now, decades later.

 By definition, creativity includes elements of bringing something into being, which could be from scratch or as a novel twist, variation or improvement on something already created. Included therein is an element of the unknown, or uncertainty, since what is new did not exist in that way before- at least for that person, place or time. Humans tend to fear the unknown, and yet we allow our imaginations to be highjacked towards worry, which is unconstructive imagination.

Once we become conscious of our mental meanderings and then choose to direct them towards more constructive and purposeful ends, we become creators. This is using our imagination for good, which in turn reduces stress and allows us to be more in control of our lives and the situations we encounter. When we make imagination and creativity a conscious, integral part of our lives, we are on the road to creating the outcomes and the future we desire.

 This is a great jumping off spot for imagining then bringing your New Year’s Resolutions into being. And that is creative mind power at work for your benefit!