Category Archives: Thinking
10 more resources to boost your brain power
The ability to think better makes you a superior strategist and innovator
One of my favorite subjects is the brain, how it works and how to better put it to use is something that has always intrigued me. While there is huge amounts of information on the internet on how to boost your brain power, I stumbled upon a list of 21 resources to build brainpower and thought I’d add 10 more! ??????????? ??????? ????????
- 154 ways to boost your brain power (Lite Mind)
- 75 Amazing Ways to Maximize Your Brain Power
(MindCafe.org)
- Ten tips to improve your brain (Open Forum)
- 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better
- Top 10: Steps to a better brain (New Scientist)
- Six Ways to Boost Brain power (Scientific American)
- 10 Tips for Effective Learning (About.com)
- 100 Terrific Mindhacks to Make the Most of Your Brain (Find Schools Online.com)
- Mind tricks: Six ways to explore your brain (New Scientist)
- How to think (MIT Techreview)
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UPDATE: Found another one that was posted today by Steven Aitchison, 100 Ways To Develop Your Mind.
Let’s STOP creating S**T
First let me get this out of the way…I’m a GI Joe fan!
I own most of the first edition toys and with this weeks release of the movie was feeling like a 5 year old again.Now the movie is not an Oscar winner but it’s highly entertaining and mostly did a good job of bringing out the Joe in me.
The reason I’m writing this is because I just saw the game review of the game GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra and it’s a piece of crap just like every other movie game!
Why do they keep releasing crappy movie games?
Let me tell you why…extra sales!
Other movie studios have done it, so should we! Let’s release a below average game and we’ll be able to get a handful of sales from our core fan base so we can move the needle on our revenues.
Pathetic!
The problem with this is you’re releasing crap to the masses while wasting a valuable opportunity to engage with the audience in an authentic way. The only thing this is creating bad word of mouth like this:
Remember kids, don’t ever spend you’re hard earned money on crappy games, especially if it’s a video game movie. If you do you’ll only be restarting you’re hard work. With no saves
Now I know!
Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS release Ghostbusters II release buy Daffy – The CommandoAnd knowing is half the battle!
G IIIIIII JOOOOOOOOOE!
Note to self, consumers are not dumb. The people who saw GI Joe are now in their mid 20’s early 30’s and when they see piece of crap like this on their screens they’re not buying it for them or their children and guess what, if a few one’s did go past most likely it’s being returned to the store after going through the torture of playing these things.
In my opinion the creators of the Matrix did the best job of connecting the story of the movie with a game. The game wasn’t a blockbuster but it certainly wasn’t a piece of crap!
The opportunity to release a game that connects the story to the game is wide open, whoever realizes this and is able to set the bar higher than the mediocre rest will change the game.
What are you waiting for?
Yo Joe!
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How can we best engage our brains to help us better understand big ideas?
Here’s a TED video of information designer Tom Wujec talking about three areas of the brain that help us understand words, images, feelings, connections and the importance of knowing how our brain makes sense of the different types of information we engage with in our daily lives.
Crocodile Dundee movie Key Takeaway: Use drawings to communicate your ideas more effectively
How to daydream productively
“I don’t have time to think about this right now, I need to get things done.”
How often do you hear this everyday?
I was recently reminded of the importance of having “thinking time”, reflecting on what you’re doing instead jumping straight to execution.
Having time to think about a problem your trying to solve often takes the back seat to execution, but often the key to finding a novel solution to that problem is to stop thinking about it and “daydream”.
When I was a young boy my parents sent me to the Silva Mind Control Method course (best investment ever!), and one of the things I was taught was the importance of letting your mind rest. According to our instructor back then, our brain makes the most connections when we’re sleeping and therein lies new solutions to problems.
There is a technique that we were taught for getting our brains into Alpha, a state similar to sleep called the 3 to 1 technique.
Your first start by getting comfortable and closing your eyes, take a deep breath and when exhaling in your mind repeat the number 3 three times and relax your body.
Prague Duet buy Do the same for numbers 2 and 1 and this will put your mind in a very relaxed state where all you’ll hear is the sound of the air in your lungs.
I’ve found that this technique is also great for taking 15 minute power naps which are great after lunch.
Hopefully you’ll find this helpful.
The elegantly simple way to turn ideas into brilliance
I just finished reading The Genius Machine by Gary Sindell. This is the shortest, most simple, useful book on creative thinking that I’ve ever read!
As Gary puts it, his work is to help people think.
This is not a book with yet another creative thinking technique to add to your arsenal, you can get those elsewhere. What this book gives you is an 11 step process to help you think through your ideas and turn them into reality.
A process he calls the Endleofon.
According to Gary, in order to develop our innovations to their highest possible level and to facilitate their acceptance by the people who would benefit most from our creations we need to answer The Endleofon questions which I share with you here.
11 steps that turn raw ideas into brilliance
1. Distinctions.
What do I see? New ideas are the result of perceiving new distinctions.
2. Identity
Who am I? Why are these ideas important to me, and why am I driven to share them with the world? Have I made my identity clear to my audience so they know where I am coming from?
3. Implications
Reverb move When the Wind Blows dvdrip
Where do my ideas lead? If what I am saying is true, then what are all the consequences I can imagine?
4. Testing
What am I blind to? Have I imagined how my ideas might impact a variety of situations, places and people? Have I questioned everything about my assumptions? What would prove me wrong? Can I create a model of my work and find precise analogues?
5. Precedent
Who else has seen something like this? By asserting that I have something to say, I am entering into the great conversation of ideas that stretches back through the centuries. We cannot know everything that has been said about our area of focus before we began our work, but we must try to be aware of important, precedent thought.
6. Need
Who needs this knowledge? If what I am saying is so, for whom would this knowledge be valuable? This question forces us out of focusing solely on our own area and may lead us to find the universals in our thinking. Understanding who needs us most will also help us in crafting what we say.
7. Foundation
Are there underlying principles? What is the world I’m working in? What are the underlying values expressed here? What are the applicable rules or structures that obtain here? Can I pull these together into a coherent group or body of law?
8. Completion
Is everything here? If the idea or product is valuable for someone, am I giving my audience everything they need for it to be useful? If everything they need is not here, have I explained what other information they will need in order to know enough to take action or teach others?
9. Connecting
Who am I addressing? Do I understand my audience’s frame of reference? Am I writing for my readers, speaking to my listener, carefully guiding the experience of my user?
10. Impact
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot hd Where do I want to go? In creating this work I have launched an alter ego that will eventually take on a life of its own. If this development or body of knowledge succeeds in the marketplace of ideas, will it help me fulfill my goals for my life? Are the identities of creators, the creation and the users aligned?
11. Advocacy
Am I supporting the adoption of my ideas? My thinking stands for me. Now I must stand for what I have created.
Help yourself in developing your breakthrough thinking by reading this book, it’s easy to read and simple to put to use.
You can follow Gary at his blog where he continues the exploration of the Endleofon innovation process.
UPDATE: Listen to this Businessweek podcast with an interview with Gary talking about his book.
Does your idea stand on its own?
So you got an idea and you want to communicate it.
Part of testing ideas is finding out if your idea is replicable and whether others can teach it.
We need to find out whether acceptance of an idea is dependent on its being associated with a particular charismatic individual (YOU), or whether it can stand on its own.
How many times have your heard some consultant show up and give a humorous and brilliant hour long keynote that gets everyone stirred up, but when the dust settles, nothing has changed.
The fact that some people can charm an audience and have people hanging on their every word is not a test of value of their ideas. The real test is whether a person’s ideas can in turn be presented by others and get the same positive results.
You might be communicating a great idea, but if it can’t stand on it’s own you’re not doing much.
So what should you do?
Easy! have someone else present your ideas and see what gets transmitted.
If you’re the magic sauce of your ideas and they only flourish in your immediate presence, your idea may not be sustainable yet and might need further development.
The Qualities of a Creative Genius Mind
So you want to think like a genius?
I gave you a head start on the last post I wrote 8 ways that anyone can use to think like a genius, which I hope you’ll find handy.
Not enough?
If you like mind maps like I do, you need to check out Adam Sicinski. He uses mind mapping methods to create visual IQ matrixes of the information he presents on his blog posts. Sweet!
He has a developed a very useful mind map of the essential qualities for outside the box thinking in a blog post titled The Mindset of a Creative Genius.
I’ve put the qualities of a creative genius mind below for your thinking pleasure but read the full post, it’s good stuff!
- Flexibility: A Creative Genius is flexible in thought, opinion and in the decisions they make on a daily basis. Flexibility naturally encourages “outside the box” thinking which expands possibilities and opportunities.
- Possibility Thinker: A Creative Genius persistently thinks about the possibilities that are available to them at any one moment in time. They fully understand that focusing on “possibilities” will expand opportunities, conversely, paying attention to “limitations” will only attract a greater array of problems into their lives.
- Risk Taker: A Creative Genius fully understands that without “risk” there can be no worthwhile rewards. They therefore take risks by thinking differently, by taking chances, and by utilizing creative techniques and strategies in a unique, untried and unorthodox manner.
- Focused: A Creative Genius is fully focused and locked mentally on the goals they seek to achieve. They dare not break this lock until the moment their objectives are fully realized within their physical reality.
- Imaginative: A Creative Genius utilizes the full capacity of their imagination to bend the laws of reality to find the answers and opportunities they need to overcome the challenges in their life.
- Dedicated: A Creative Genius is fully committed and dedicated to the outcomes and objectives they seek to achieve. They simply will not allow distractions or circumstances to push them off course. If however they do get sidetracked, than they are quick to adjust their sails to the changing winds and alter their course accordingly.
- Patient: A Creative Genius realizes that creativity is a process that involves patience and careful preparation. They don’t try to force answers, instead they proactively make slight adjustments in their approach to open up new perspectives and understandings that will unlock the solutions and opportunities they have been searching for.
- Proactive: A Creative Genius is constantly moving forward towards their objectives. This doesn’t mean being “action oriented” 24/7. However, it does mean focusing your body and mind on tasks and activities that keep you moving forward towards your goals consistently every single day. They always ask themselves “Is this activity taking me closer to my goals, or is it pulling me away?” The answer redirects their thinking and actions towards their creative objectives.
- Courageous: A Creative Genius is courageous in action and thought. They are always willing to try new things and break the rules and boundaries limiting the average mind. And it is for this reason that the impossible becomes possible within their perspective of reality.
- Independent: A Creative Genius is an independent thinker and doer. Yes, they seek other perspectives, ideas and opinions, however in the end, it is their independence that allows for the flow of unique, insightful and creative ideas.
- Intuitive: A Creative Genius is a very intuitive soul. They fully understand that some answers can only be realized when they have an intuitive understanding of the world and the problem they are facing.
- Persistent: A Creative Genius is fully aware if they persistent long enough over a consistent period of time, that every problem can be solved in a surprising and creative way. For this reason they bring forth a resilient attitude to every challenge confronting their reality.
- Curious & Playful Nature: A Creative Genius approaches every task or activity in a curiously playful manner. Reminiscent of a child learning something new for the very first time. A Creative Genius fully appreciates that only curiosity and playfulness is able to relax their mind and bring forth its fullest creative potential.
Check out Adam’s blog for more useful mind maps!
