How To Generate Big Ideas On Demand

Freeing your mind to think in an innovative way can be as easy as jumping in the shower and tuning out.What if we told you that you could come up with a great idea anytime you wanted?

We can show you how not only to summon new and innovative concepts on command but also to teach your people the same skill. This may sound like an infomercial (”Order our revolutionary system within the next 20 minutes, and we’ll throw in a set of steak knives absolutely free”), but it’s true.

The five techniques outlined below have one thing in common: They free your brain to let your best ideas flow.

As it is, you undoubtedly have too much on your mind. When you’re driving during rush hour, you are too busy dealing with traffic to notice the scenery and enjoy the ride. The following practices eliminate mental traffic and help you liberate the great ideas inside you desperately trying to get out.

1. Shower your way to creativity.

Yep, it’s absolutely true. There is a scientific theory that water hitting your head helps trigger the synapses and that’s why people get great ideas in the shower. But we think it’s simpler than that: The ideas occur because you are not making an effort to think. You aren’t worried about anything. You are not stressed. Hence some of your best thinking occurs.

2. Sleep on it.

Remember how your mom used to say, “Why don’t you sleep on it, honey?” when you were wrestling with a big issue? Well, when it comes to big ideas and problem solving, Mother really does know best.

The next time you want to solve a major challenge or be unusually brilliant, think about it in bed. Don’t push yourself to figure out the answer before you fall asleep. Instead, just go through the issues at hand and tell yourself that you will have the answer in the morning. In our experience, this technique amplifies the power of the shower, because there are even fewer distractions to occupy your mind when you are asleep.

You can employ an alternate version of this while awake. The next time you can’t think of a name, date, or important fact, just tell yourself aloud, “I will not think about this for a while, and the answer will come to me.” This technique clears the traffic in your mind and lets your subconscious go to work. Your answer will often pop into your head the moment you stop “thinking about it.”

3. Engage in mind-mapping

Purging is a great way to make new connections and create bigger ideas. Have a tough challenge to solve? Get a giant piece of paper (write small if you can’t find one). In each quarter of the paper, write a keyword related to the challenge. For example, if you want to plan a cool family vacation, you might write the words “destinations,” “transportation,” “memories,” and “kids.”

Then, in no particular order, begin to brainstorm any word that comes to mind when you think of each of the keywords. For example, for “Transportation”: plane, train, automobile, John Candy, pillows, sleep, sleeping bag, tent, treehouse, memories, dreams, daydreams, smells, popcorn, movies, adventure, pirates, islands, Swiss Family Robinson. Eventually, you will begin to make connections, and ideas that unify the key aspects of your goal will pop off the page.

Strive for as many words as you can, and don’t judge the words. Judging is looking at the traffic when you are driving—it keeps you from coming up with ideas. Eliminate the traffic.

You can employ this simple technique yourself or do it in groups to loosen up your team. Imagine how much fun you’ll have explaining to your family how you came up with the idea of renting a tree house for your vacation in Costa Rica.

4. Schedule Your Daydreaming

We all have a time of day when our brains work the best. For many, it is first thing in the morning, before rush hour. Unfortunately, the CrackBerry addiction has many of us checking our e-mail just when our brains are the most capable of creating.

The moment you check your e-mail, voice mail, or to-do list, you have hijacked your imagination. You have created a mental traffic jam. Do yourself a favor and schedule daydreaming. Unplug during the time that you know you do your best thinking and find a place that makes you feel energized. A lot of people love the local coffee shop. The buzz of conversation, the smells, colors, and energy create a safe haven for the mind to wander. Some prefer the library or the park. Whichever it is, go there. Let your mind wander.

5. Yuk it up.

Laughing is another great way to liberate your brain. Often consciously doing silly-seeming things will get the creative juices flowing. Spin a top. Get an ice cream cone.

As you test these five techniques, you’ll find some work better than others. If it turns out you really do get your best ideas in the shower, be conscious of the circumstances under which they occurred. What was the water temperature like? How long had you been in there? What time was it? Replicate the experience.

You’ll find the effort worthwhile. “The bottom line is that gifted performers are almost always made, not born, and that the journey to superior performance is for neither the faint of heart nor the impatient,” says Rand Stagen, senior partner of Stagen, a management consulting firm that specializes in helping mid-market companies scale. “Just as in sports, becoming an elite performer in business requires struggle, sacrifice, and honest (often painful) self-assessment. Depending on the scope and difficulty of the skill to be learned, it will take months and probably years to achieve a high level of proficiency or mastery.”

Learning how to implement these approaches is often what separates a brilliant thinker from a creative want-to-be. Really. At first, you may feel silly, but we promise they will work.

G. Michael Maddock is founding partner, and Raphael Louis Vitón is president, of Maddock Douglas, a company that invents, brands, and markets products “for companies driven by innovation.”

By G. Michael Maddock and Raphael Louis Viton
Source: Business Week

How To Be A Renaissance Man (or Woman)

Based from the book “How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci” by Michael J. Gelb. Leonardo da Vinci was the ultimate multi-tasker: an accomplished scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, painter, sculptor, architect, botanist, musician and writer. If you want to be a Renaissance Man, you can learn a lot from how Leonardo da Vinci lived and thought. Based on studying his life and work, anyone can emulate da Vinci with the following steps.

Curiosità

Curiosità is an “insatiably curious approach to life and unrelenting quest for continuous learning”. Great minds have one characteristic in common: they continuously ask questions throughout their lives. Leonardo’s endless quest for truth and beauty clearly demonstrates this. What makes great minds different is the quality of their questions. You can increase your ability to solve problems by increasing your ability to ask good questions. Like da Vinci, you should cultivate an open mind that allows you to broaden your universe and increase your ability to explore it. Here are some ways to apply Curiosità:

* Keep a journal. Bring a journal wherever you go and use it often. Write your ideas and thoughts there. Try to write several statements a day that start with “I wonder why/how…”
* Observe according to a theme. Choose a theme and observe things according to the theme for a day. For example, let’s say you choose “communication”. For the entire day, observe every type and instance of communication you come across. You can then record your observations in your journal.
* Stream of consciousness exercise. Pick a question and write the thoughts and associations that occur to you as they are. Don’t edit them. The important thing is to keep writing. This is also referred to as freewriting.

Dimostrazione

Dimostrazione is “a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistake”. Wisdom comes from experience and the principle of Dimostrazione helps you get the most out of your experience. Here are some ways to apply Dimostrazione:

* Check your beliefs. Do you hold any beliefs that you haven’t verified through experience?
* Three points of view. First, make a strong argument against your belief. Next, take a distant view of your belief (for example, as if you live in a different culture) and review it. Finally, find friends who can give you different perspectives.
* Analyze the advertisements that affect you. Look at the advertisements in your favorite magazine and analyze the strategy and tactics they use. Find the advertisements that affect you most and find out why.
* Find “anti-role models” to learn from. List the names of some people whose mistakes you want to avoid. Learn from them so that you won’t encounter the same pitfalls.

Sensazione

Sensazione is “the continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience”. According to da Vinci, we can best practice Dimostrazione through our senses, particularly sight. That’s why one of Leonardo’s mottoes is saper vedere (knowing how to see) upon which he built his work in arts and science. Here are some ways to apply Sensazione:

* Write detailed description of an experience. For instance, describe your experience of watching a sunrise in your journal.
* Learn how to describe a smell.
* Learn to draw.
* Listen to different sounds around you. Learn to listen to different intensity of sounds from the softest (e.g. your breathing) to the loudest (e.g. traffic).
* Live in the moment. Practice mindfulness.

Sfumato

Sfumato is “a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty”. An essential characteristic of da Vinci’s genius is his ability to handle a sense of mystery. Here are two ways to apply Sfumato:

* Befriend ambiguity. Find some situations in your past where you faced ambiguity (e.g. waiting to hear if your application for a job you wanted was successful). Describe how you felt.
* Ask yourself questions that relate two opposites. For example, ask yourself how your happiest and saddest moments are related.
* Practice the Socratic method. The goal with the Socratic method is to examine possibilities, and that is done by asking questions, not by giving answers. Socrates was known (and criticized) for asking questions to which he didn’t have answers.[2] The key to using the Socratic method is to be humble. Don’t assume that you or anyone knows anything for sure. Question every premise.

Arte/scienza

Arte/scienza is “the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination”. This is thinking with the “whole brain”. Mind mapping is a powerful method that can help you combine logic and imagination in your work and life. The end result of mapping should be a web-like structure of words and ideas that are somehow related in the writer’s mind.

Corporalità

Corporalità is “the cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness, and poise”. Leonardo had amazing physical ability that complemented his genius in science and arts. Here are some ways to apply Corporalità:

* Develop a program for physical fitness. Your program should include three things: flexibility exercises, strength training, and aerobic conditioning.
* Develop body awareness. Study anatomy. Try yoga. Dance. Do some contact juggling. Whatever strengthens the connection between body and mind, go for it.
* Cultivate ambidexterity. Leonardo could work with both his right and left hand and regularly switched between them. You can cultivate ambidexterity by using your nondominant hand for relatively simple tasks like brushing your teeth or eating your breakfast. Later you can use your nondominant hand for writing.

Connessione

Connessione is “a recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena”. This, in other words, is systems thinking. One main source of Leonardo’s creativity is his ability to form new patterns through connections and combinations of different elements. Here are some ways to apply Connessione:

* Find ways to link things that seem unrelated. For example, you can try to find connections between a bear and the World Wide Web, or geology and the Mona Lisa (real name “La Joconde”).
* Imagine dialogues. Imagine talking with a role model to gain new perspective and insight. Or you can imagine how some role models would discuss your problem.
* Think about how things originate. Take an object and think about what elements are involved in its creation and how.

Source: wikiHow

Never, Ever, Ever Give Up

Winston Churchill was famous for saying “Never, Never, Never Give Up! I guess he would know since he helped save a whole nation…this, from someone who failed sixth grade. He was also defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62. In any event, here are some other more notable examples in history to help us put one foot in front of the other and keep on keeping on.

As a young man, Abraham Lincoln went to war a captain and returned a private. Afterwards, he was a failure as a businessman. As a lawyer in Springfield, he was too impractical and temperamental to be a success. He turned to politics and was defeated in his first try for the legislature, again defeated in his first attempt to be nominated for congress, defeated in his application to be commissioner of the General Land Office, defeated in the senatorial election of 1854, defeated in his efforts for the vice-presidency in 1856, and defeated in the senatorial election of 1858. At about that time, he wrote in a letter to a friend, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth.”

Socrates was called “an immoral corrupter of youth” and continued to corrupt even after a sentence of death was imposed on him. He drank the hemlock and died corrupting.

Sigmund Freud was booed from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe. He returned to his office and kept on writing.

Robert Sternberg received a C in his first college introductory-psychology class. His teacher commented that “there was a famous Sternberg in psychology and it was obvious there would not be another.” Three years later Sternberg graduated with honors from Stanford University with exceptional distinction in psychology, summa cum laude, and Phi Beta Kappa. In 2002, he became President of the American Psychological Association.

Charles Darwin gave up a medical career and was told by his father, “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs and rat catching.” In his autobiography, Darwin wrote, “I was considered by all my masters and my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard of intellect.” Clearly, he evolved.

Thomas Edison’s teachers said he was “too stupid to learn anything.” He was fired from his first two jobs for being “non-productive.” As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, “How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?” Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”

Albert Einstein did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was “sub-normal,” and one of his teachers described him as “mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams.” He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to the Zurich Polytechnic School. He did eventually learn to speak and read. Even to do a little math.

Louis Pasteur was only a mediocre pupil in undergraduate studies and ranked 15th out of 22 students in chemistry.

Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.

R. H. Macy failed seven times before his store in New York City caught on.

F. W. Woolworth was not allowed to wait on customers when he worked in a dry goods store because, his boss said, “he didn’t have enough sense.”

When Bell telephone was struggling to get started, its owners offered all their rights to Western Union for $100,000. The offer was disdainfully rejected with the pronouncement, “What use could this company make of an electrical toy.”

John Garcia, who eventually was honored for his fundamental psychological discoveries, was once told by a reviewer of his often-rejected manuscripts that one is no more likely to find the phenomenon he discovered than to find bird droppings in a cuckoo clock. (sort of a cute critique actually)

Rocket scientist Robert Goddard found his ideas bitterly rejected by his scientific peers on the grounds that rocket propulsion would not work in the rarefied atmosphere of outer space.

Daniel Boone was once asked by a reporter if he had ever been lost in the wilderness. Boone thought for a moment and replied, “No, but I was once bewildered for about three days.”

An expert said of Vince Lombardi: “He possesses minimal football knowledge and lacks motivation.” Lombardi would later write, “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.”

Michael Jordan and Bob Cousy were each cut from their high school basketball teams. Jordan once observed, “I’ve failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed.”

Babe Ruth is famous for his past home run record, but for decades he also held the record for strikeouts. He hit 714 home runs and struck out 1,330 times in his career (about which he said, “Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”). And didn’t Mark McGwire break that strikeout record? (John Wooden once explained that winners make the most errors.)

Hank Aaron went 0 for 5 his first time at bat with the Milwaukee Braves.

Stan Smith was rejected as a ball boy for a Davis Cup tennis match because he was “too awkward and clumsy.” He went on to clumsily win Wimbledon and the U. S. Open. And eight Davis Cups.

Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Bill Walsh, and Jimmy Johnson accounted for 11 of the 19 Super Bowl victories from 1974 to 1993. They also share the distinction of having the worst records of first-season head coaches in NFL history - they didn’t win a single game.

Johnny Unitas’s first pass in the NFL was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. Joe Montana’s first pass was also intercepted. And while we’re on quarterbacks, during his first season Troy Aikman threw twice as many interceptions (18) as touchdowns (9) . . . oh, and he didn’t win a single game. You think there’s a lesson here?

After Carl Lewis won the gold medal for the long jump in the 1996 Olympic games, he was asked to what he attributed his longevity, having competed for almost 20 years. He said, “Remembering that you have both wins and losses along the way. I don’t take either one too seriously.”

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. In fact, the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.

Charles Schultz had every cartoon he submitted rejected by his high school yearbook staff. Oh, and Walt Disney wouldn’t hire him.

After Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, read, “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald. Can dance a little.” He kept that memo over the fire place in his Beverly Hills home. Astaire once observed that “when you’re experimenting, you have to try so many things before you choose what you want, that you may go days getting nothing but exhaustion.” And here is the reward for perseverance: “The higher up you go, the more mistakes you are allowed. Right at the top, if you make enough of them, it’s considered to be your style.”

After his first audition, Sidney Poitier was told by the casting director, “Why don’t you stop wasting people’s time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?” It was at that moment, recalls Poitier, that he decided to devote his life to acting.

When Lucille Ball began studying to be actress in 1927, she was told by the head instructor of the John Murray Anderson Drama School, “Try any other profession.”

The first time Jerry Seinfeld walked on-stage at a comedy club as a professional comic, he looked out at the audience, froze, and forgot the English language. He stumbled through “a minute-and a half” of material and was jeered offstage. He returned the following night and closed his set to wild applause.

In 1944, Emmeline Snively, director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency, told modeling hopeful Norma Jean Baker, “You’d better learn secretarial work or else get married.” I’m sure you know that Norma Jean was Marilyn Monroe. Now . . . who was Emmeline Snively?

At the age of 21, French acting legend Jeanne Moreau was told by a casting director that her head was too crooked, she wasn’t beautiful enough, and she wasn’t photogenic enough to make it in films. She took a deep breath and said to herself, “Alright, then, I guess I will have to make it my own way.” After making nearly 100 films her own way, in 1997 she received the European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award.

After Harrison Ford’s first performance as a hotel bellhop in the film Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round, the studio vice-president called him in to his office. “Sit down kid,” the studio head said, “I want to tell you a story. The first time Tony Curtis was ever in a movie he delivered a bag of groceries. We took one look at him and knew he was a movie star.” Ford replied, “I thought you were spossed to think that he was a grocery delivery boy.” The vice president dismissed Ford with “You ain’t got it kid , you ain’t got it … now get out of here.”

Michael Caine’s headmaster told him, “You will be a laborer all your life.”

Charlie Chaplin was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs because his pantomime was considered “nonsense.”

Enrico Caruso’s music teacher said he had no voice at all and could not sing. His parents wanted him to become an engineer.

Decca Records turned down a recording contract with the Beatles with the unprophetic evaluation, “We don’t like their sound. Groups of guitars are on their way out.” After Decca rejected the Beatles, Columbia records followed suit.

In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after one performance. He told Presley, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere, son. You ought to go back to drivin’ a truck.”

Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him “hopeless as a composer.” And, of course, you know that he wrote five of his greatest symphonies while completely deaf.

The Impressionists had to arrange their own art exhibitions because their works were routinely rejected by the Paris Salon. How many of you have heard of the Paris Salon?

A Paris art dealer refused Picasso shelter when he asked if he could bring in his paintings from out of the rain. One hopes that there is justice in this world and that the art dealer eventually went broke.

Van Gogh sold only one painting during his life. And this to the sister of one of his friends for 400 francs (approximately $50). This didn’t stop him from completing over 800 paintings.

John Constable’s luminous painting Watermeadows at Salisbury was dismissed in 1830 by a judge at the Royal Academy as “a nasty green thing.” Name of the judge, anyone? Anyone?

Rodin’s father once said, “I have an idiot for a son.” Described as the worst pupil in the school, he was rejected three times admittance to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. His uncle called him uneducable. Perhaps this gave him food for thought.

Stravinsky was run out of town by an enraged audience and critics after the first performance of the Rite of Spring.

When Pablo Casals reached 95, a young reporter asked him “Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived. Why do you still practice six hours a day?” Mr. Casals answered, “Because I think I’m making progress.”

Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college. He was described as both “unable and unwilling to learn.” No doubt a slow developer.

Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women, was encouraged to find work as a servant by her family.

Emily Dickinson had only seven poems published in her lifetime.

15 publishers rejected a manuscript by e. e. cummings. When he finally got it published by his mother, the dedication, printed in uppercase letters, read WITH NO THANKS TO . . . followed by the list of publishers who had rejected his prized offering. Nice going Eddie. Thanks for illustrating that nobody loses all the time.

18 publishers turned down Richard Bach’s story about a “soaring eagle.” Macmillan finally published Jonathan Livingston Seagull in 1970. By 1975 it had sold more than 7 million copies in the U.S. alone.

21 publishers rejected Richard Hooker’s humorous war novel, M*A*S*H. He had worked on it for seven years.

22 publishers rejected James Joyce’s The Dubliners.

27 publishers rejected Dr. Seuss’s first book, To Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Jack London received six hundred rejection slips before he sold his first story.

English crime novelist John Creasey got 753 rejection slips before he published 564 books.

William Saroyan accumulated more than a thousand rejections before he had his first literary piece published. Way to not take a hint, Bill!

Gertrude Stein submitted poems to editors for nearly 20 years before one was finally accepted. See . . . a rose is a rose.

I bet you didn’t know that John Milton wrote Paradise Lost 16 years after losing his eyesight

One of Professor Pajares’s first research efforts came back with a review that began, “There are so many things I don’t like about this article I just don’t know where to begin.”

There is a professor at MIT who offers a course on failure. He does that, he says, because failure is a far more common experience than success. An interviewer once asked him if anybody ever failed the course on failure. He thought a moment and replied, “No, but there were two incomplete s.”

Daydreaming And The Improvement Of Thinking

Many times our minds wander during boring tasks, we’ve all experienced it, but some researchers now believe, this “daydreaming” is actually the brain’s normal state.

Researchers have discovered that daydreaming could be the result of the brain mulling over important - but not immediately relevant - issues when the external environment ceases to pose interesting and engaging problems.

“For the most part psychologists have sort of assumed that we spend most of our time engaged in goal-directed thought and that, every so often, we have blips of irrelevant thoughts that pop up on the radar,” said lead author Malia Mason of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

“It could very well be the case, however, that most of the time we are engaged in less directed, unintended thought and that this state is routinely interrupted by periods of goal-directed thought.”

Mind-wandering is defined as a state of mind where thoughts that are experienced by an individual are unrelated to what is going on in the environment around them. When wandering, the brain flits about from one thought to the next, generating images, voices, thoughts and feelings.

“This type of wandering can be problematic and distracting, but usually it’s quite practical, for example, most people spend the time thinking about what they need to do in the impending future,” said Mason.

When deciding how best to encourage daydreaming in order to study it, the researchers recognized that our minds often wander while we are engaged in familiar tasks, such as making a tuna fish sandwich, because we don’t need to concentrate on it. They trained study subjects to become proficient on certain tasks so that their minds would be able to wander when they performed them, but would have to concentrate when given something new.

The team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to learn what parts of their brains were active during both goal-oriented thought and daydreaming. In the fMRI images, the seat of daydreams appeared to be the ‘default network’ a region of the brain that remains active when we rest or are not engaged in a focussed task, but switches off when we need to concentrate.

The default network is a collection of regions from the medial frontal and medial parietal regions of the brain. The frontal lobes are involved in functions including impulse control, judgment, language, memory, motor function, problem solving, sexual behavior, socialization and spontaneity. The parietal lobe plays an important part in processing sensory information.

Previous studies have shown that brain damage to parts the default network is associated with a “mental emptiness” and an absence of spontaneous speech and thought.

According to Mason, the most important question is why our brains evolved to wander at all. His team suggests that perhaps it keeps our brains aroused during mundane tasks, or simply that our brains may wander because they can.

“In a sense these thoughts reflect an amazing capacity on our part to multi-task,” said Mason. “It is as if we have a sense of how much [attention] we have ‘left over’ and allocate these resources to working out some problem or anticipating what we have to do in the near future.”

The Art Of Giving Up

There is a wonderful article over at dyske.com that discusses the art of giving up… not in the sense of quitting but of learning and knowing when to let go. The article goes on to explore why we develop attachments in the first place.

This hit home for me on a personal level as I thought back on my love of photography and my passion to pursue it as a career. I was a professional photographer for a period in time, but realized mixing the business of photography with the creative side, did not make for an enjoyable career.

… choices are either to quit altogether or to depend on it for life. Either way, it is not enjoyable. It is also common to see aspiring artists, musicians, and actors entirely drop their activities once they come to a conclusion that they are not going to make it. At that point, it becomes clear that the driving force behind their creative pursuits was not their enthusiasm or passion, but their attachment to the idea of becoming someone. Or, it is also possible that whatever enthusiasm they had was overwhelmed by their fear of failure. Ironically, I believe that, if you can give up the idea of “making it,” you would have a better chance of actually making it….

You can read more at dyske.com

“…My Sensuous And Godlike Trombone Playing…”

This guy should get some kind of an award for creativity. This could be one of those urban myth things, but I’m told this is an actual essay written by a college applicant…. one of the best examples I’ve seen of thinking outside the box. He has since gone on to attend NYU.

3A. ESSAY: IN ORDER FOR THE ADMISSIONS STAFF OF OUR COLLEGE TO GET TO KNOW YOU, THE APPLICANT, BETTER, WE ASK THAT YOU ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT EXPERIENCES YOU HAVE HAD, OR ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU HAVE REALIZED, THAT HAVE HELPED TO DEFINE YOU AS A PERSON?

I am a dynamic figure, often seen scaling walls and crushing ice. I have been known to remodel train stations on my lunch breaks, making them more efficient in the area of heat retention. I translate ethnic slurs for Cuban refugees, I write award-winning operas, I manage time efficiently. Occasionally, I tread water for three days in a row.

I woo women with my sensuous and godlike trombone playing, I can pilot bicycles up severe inclines with unflagging speed, and I cook Thirty-Minute Brownies in twenty minutes. I am an expert in stucco, a veteran in love, and an outlaw in Peru.

Using only a hoe and a large glass of water, I once single-handedly defended a small village in the Amazon Basin from a horde of ferocious
army ants. I play bluegrass cello, I was scouted by the Mets, I am the subject of numerous documentaries. When I’m bored, I build large
suspension bridges in my yard. I enjoy urban hang gliding. On Wednesdays, after school, I repair electrical appliances free of charge.

I am an abstract artist, a concrete analyst, and a ruthless bookie. Critics worldwide swoon over my original line of corduroy evening wear.
I don’t perspire. I am a private citizen, yet I receive fan mail. I have been caller number nine and have won the weekend passes. Last
summer I toured New Jersey with a traveling centrifugal-force demonstration. I bat .400. My deft floral arrangements have earned me
fame in international botany circles. Children trust me.

I can hurl tennis rackets at small moving objects with deadly accuracy. I once read Paradise Lost, Moby Dick, and David Copperfield in one day
and still had time to refurbish an entire dining room that evening. I know the exact location of every food item in the supermarket. I have
performed several covert operations for the CIA. I sleep once a week; when I do sleep, I sleep in a chair. While on vacation in Canada, I
successfully negotiated with a group of terrorists who had seized a small bakery. The laws of physics do not apply to me.

I balance, I weave, I dodge, I frolic, and my bills are all paid. On weekends, to let off steam, I participate in full-contact origami. Years ago I discovered the meaning of life but forgot to write it down. I have made extraordinary four course meals using only a mouli and a toaster oven. I breed prizewinning clams. I have won bullfights in San Juan, cliff-diving competitions in Sri Lanka, and spelling bees at the Kremlin. I have played Hamlet, I have performed open-heart surgery, and I have spoken with Elvis.

But I have not yet gone to college.

Proof Subliminal Suggestion Works?

Check out this six minute video. Subtle subliminal suggestions are supposedly used to guide the creative ideas of two top advertising designers as they create a new ad campaign from their own imaginations. Or do they?

You’ll probably grin a bit by the conclusion - the last thirty seconds or so - but it does raise some questions about how easily we’re influenced in every area of our lives, and perhaps question the nature of creativity and where ideas really come from.

Are You A Writer?

Most famous writers claim that they always knew they would be a writer when they grew up. Despite set-backs and struggle, they had confidence in their own innate talent and creative instincts.

But not all writers have that rock-solid confidence (or, as it’s known in the writing business, “arrogance”). How do you know if you’re truly cut out for the life of a novelist or if you’re actually some sad wannabe who’s pitied by friends and family?

Just take the Clarke Patented “Am I Really a Writer?” multiple-choice test below and find out once and for all if you’ve got what it takes!

THE CLARKE PATENTED “AM I REALLY A WRITER?” TEST
(Asking your writing group, tutor, or best friend to help you fill out this test is cheating. So is asking a writer to do it for you, such as Margaret Atwood.)

A. I think I’m a writer because:
1. I enjoy writing
2. I enjoy reading
3. I enjoy typing
4. I enjoy knowing that I am a creative being

B. I tend to get my ideas from:
1. the world around me
2. the fantasies within me
3. the TV in front of me
4. the concept of “idea” is so, you know, anal retentive

C. I try to write:
1. one sustained period a day
2. one sustained period whenever inspiration strikes me
3. you mean I actually have to write something all the time?
4. only when it won’t violate my imaginative flow

D. I believe that adjectives and adverbs:
1. should be used sparingly
2. should be used vigorously, fulsomely, and without stint
3. are what, exactly?
4. are pathetic attempts to limit my creative energy

E. I structure my novel-in-progress by:
1. writing to a prepared plot outline
2. writing according to how the story seems to be telling itself
3. writing whatever comes into my head from moment to moment
4. how mundane actually to have a “novel-in-progress”; I have a concept

F. I achieve the self-discipline to write by:
1. forcing myself to work whether I’m in the mood or not
2. letting guilt finally force me to do something, anything
3. jotting down half a page now and again and rewarding myself with
ice cream
4. self-discipline is the enemy of creativity

G. I deal with difficult, blocked or “dry” periods by:
1. working on something else to retain good writing habits
2. panicking and bingeing
3. wondering if I shouldn’t take up decoy carving instead
4. only real writers are really blocked

H. I strive to make my work:
1. as good as it can be by rewriting and polishing
2. as good as that first true inspiration will allow it to be
3. as unembarrassing as I can before going to my writing group;
they’re really mean
4. as unintrusive in my creative life as possible

I. I approach the task of finding an agent or publisher by:
1. researching the market thoroughly and learning how to make a
professional submission
2. sending my manuscript and a very nice letter to my writing tutor’s
publisher
3. sending my manuscript to the publishers of the latest best-seller
4. they’ll be knocking on my door begging me for my manuscript

J. I accept rejection slips:
1. with a pang, then move to the next submission
2. with a little sigh: I secretly knew it was no good
3. with a howl of unbelieving rage: ignorant jackasses, don’t they know
true talent when…
4. I’m too sensitive to put myself through such a negative experience

K. I see myself in the future:
1. finding satisfaction in writing novels my readers enjoy
2. becoming a rich and famous best-seller and appearing on TV
3. winning the Pulitzer, the Booker, and the Nobel Prize for Literature
4. being the most famous person on the planet. Hey, in the universe.

L. I want to write because:
1. I have characters and stories bursting to come to life
2. I like the idea of having a book published
3. I like the idea of being a writer
4. I didn’t say I wanted to write, just that I know I’m a writer, and
this is a dumb test, anyway

How to score this test:
Count up the numbers of the answers you have selected. If you have a total of:
12-16: You seem to have what it takes. I’ll see you in print one day.
17-25: Time to get serious. Take one giant step into a professional attitude.
26-35: What a dweeb. Quit dreaming and get a life.
36-48: Jerk extraordinaire! Out of my sight, thou posturing ninny!

Having taken the Clarke’s Patented “Am I Really a Writer?” Test, you know if you are a real writer or not. If you are, congratulations! If you aren’t, contact me for some useful websites on needlework, photography or windsurfing.

But seriously, folks: the basic test of whether someone is a real writer or not is if they really write. There’s no magic to it. Either you write or you don’t. It’s that simple.

Copyright 1999 Caro Clarke

10 Traits Of The Greats

So you want to be a creative genius… If you really want to become a creative genius, my first advice for you is: surround yourself with creative geniuses for a few years. Work with them, play with them and take great notes. If you’re short on time and Spielberg refuses to return your calls, take my second advice: Read this column.

During the last 20 years, I’ve had the good fortune to work closely with dozens of brilliant and successful creative people. I’ve also studied the lives and works of many early creative geniuses — pioneers of the arts, science, exploration and business.

I can’t read enough about people like Edison, da Vinci, Hawking, Jobs and Mozart. In studying these innovators, in person and on the page, I’m constantly looking for the traits, attitudes and actions that set them apart from their contemporaries.

I am a prospector panning for creative gold. This is no fool’s gold; this is genius gold — creative currency. I’m far from done with my quest, but here’s a glimpse at some of the nuggets I’ve uncovered so far. Keep in mind that this is a living list that will evolve as I continue to read, listen and learn.

Call it a starter set. I call it the Traits of the Great Creatives.

1. Optimism. They believe most things are possible.

“The thing always happens that you really believe in;
and the belief in a thing makes it happen.”
— Frank Lloyd Wright

Every great creative mind I’ve ever encountered has been optimistic. I don’t mean that they were starry-eyed and Pollyanna. They all approach their challenges believing that a brilliant solution can and will be found; a breakthrough discovery will be made.

This optimism includes confidence in their abilities. Joe Rodhi, the Imagineer responsible for designing Disney’s Animal Kingdom, once told me that optimism was a key ingredient of the creative ego: “We first have to believe that it can be done. Then we have to believe that we are the ones who have the power to do it. If we don’t believe those two things, the battle is lost before we start.”

2. Persistence. They never give up.

“Obstacles cannot crush me. Every obstacle yields to strong resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.”
— Leonardo da Vinci

Throughout history, great creatives have shown that persistence is a personality trait that can move mountains. Two good examples revolve around light and flight.

Thomas Edison spent 52 years perfecting the incandescent light bulb. In the process, he extended the life of the average light bulb from 40 hours to 1,500 hours. That progress took persistence and stamina. If he had given up after 50 years, you might be reading this magazine by candlelight.

Da Vinci executed the designs on dozens of flying machines because he desperately wanted to fly. As each design failed to get off the ground, he’d immediately begin working on the next concept. He continued to pursue flight until his death in 1519. Although he never achieved flight during his lifetime, da Vinci’s ideas have contributed to the development of several working flying machines, including the modern helicopter.

3. Imagination. They see all of the possibilities.

Teacher: What are you drawing, Amy?
Amy (age 5): God.
Teacher: But Amy, nobody knows what God looks like.
Amy: They will when I’m done.

So many of the great minds I’ve worked with and so many famous creators throughout history refer to the power of the imagination with great reverence and respect. And no imagination gets more
respect than that of a child. I’ve heard so many gifted people refer to the minds of kids with a sense of awe and wonder.

Some creative geniuses, like Picasso, considered the child’s imagination to be an absolute benchmark of creativity. Imagination is the talent that allows us to see our ideas before they are realized. It’s an ever-changing set of mental blue prints and emerging concepts. For the creative genius, the imagination is a mental gymnasium where they can work out their ideas.

Einstein bolstered many people’s perception of the value of imagination when he said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

4. Passion. They love what they do.

“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence, nor imagination, nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.”
— Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

There is no creative genius without passion. It’s a driving force and the buoy that keeps creators afloat through failure and adversity. It’s what keeps them awake at night.

Passion is both a driver for the creator and an irresistible force which attracts people to follow and support their creative efforts. It’s an essential trait of the greats and it is also one of the sources
of their often abundant supplies of energy.

Annie Leibovitz talks of loving the people she photographs. Einstein spoke of his love of mankind and Shakespeare wrote sonnets to express his passions.

5. Energy. They keep going and going and going…

“My mind is always going a thousand miles an hour. My body feels a need to try to keep up.”
— Jonathan Bailey

Another trait that seems to connect the vast majority of successful creative people is high energy. It’s rare to find a lethargic creative genius. I’ve yet to meet one. This may explain some of the extraordinary productivity that so often accompanies creative genius.

I once commented on the endless physical energy of Jonathan Bailey, a brilliant young architect whose structures are changing the face of the planet. He’s not alone. Edison was renowned for his energy often working 18 hours a day, surviving on catnaps and four to five hours of sleep per night.

An over-the-top example of pure creative energy is the frenetic force of Robin Williams. Thankfully, not all great creative thinkers bounce off the walls like Williams, but his energy is a reflection of his mind — in speed, versatility and endurance. It’s an enviable gift.

6. Curiosity and Learning. They want to know more.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”
— Walt Disney

The brightest minds I have ever known have also been the most curious minds. Creative minds are often insatiable, hungrily consuming information related to their passions. I have never met a creative genius who was not actively in the process of learning something new.

The greats are lifelong learners. At the height of his success as a sculptor and a painter, Michelangelo told his patrons “I am still learning.” It’s both humbling and inspirational in the same breath.

7. Focus.They choose a target and get lost in their work.

While I was working on a project for the Kennedy Space Center, Story Musgrave, a 30-year NASA veteran and astronaut on six space shuttle flights, told me that a rocket was really nothing
more than a controlled explosion. He said the difference between a rocket and a bomb is that the rocket focuses its explosion in one direction.

I know several creative people who have learned to harness the explosive power of their minds in a similar way. They have an ability to aim all of their high-powered brain cells toward a specific challenge at a specific time and the result is “Lift Off!”

When we think of creativity, we tend to think of free flowing ideas, originality and divergent thinking. We don’t typically think of focus. Yet focus is clearly a cornerstone of creative genius. Many of the greatest minds I’ve encountered have the ability to control their focus like a mental zoom lens, making the shift from big picture to infinitesimal detail with ease.

8. Courage. They reach beyond the boundaries of fear.

“I’m not funny. What I am is brave.”
— Lucille Ball

Great creatives are courageous spirits. They put their reputations and successes on the line everyday in pursuit of the next great idea. They are known for breaking the rules, ignoring conventional wisdom and forging into uncharted territory.

The path to creative genius is paved with insecurities, misunderstanding, rejection, ridicule, and in some cases, outright hostility.

Consider the fate of Galileo who was deemed a heretic long before history reclassified him as a scientific genius. Most of us are only risking our careers and reputations when we leap out of the box. People like Galileo were risking their lives.

The basic rule stands true in creativity as it does in the real world: No guts, no glory.

9. Communication. They teach the value of their ideas.

I remember struggling to communicate an idea to my dad when I was 10 and failing miserably. He told me then, “It doesn’t matter how great your ideas are. If you can’t effectively communicate
their value to the people, who will benefit?” Dad’s not a creative genius, but he introduced me to one of the more valuable tools of the trade: communication.

Da Vinci’s hundreds of schematic drawings are legendary because they so effectively communicate both the value (why) and the mechanics (how) of his ideas. There are enthusiasts today who entertain themselves by building da Vinci’s machines using his original drawings as blueprints.

For a more contemporary example of brilliance, watch Steve Jobs on stage at the next Apple product launch. He uses the full power of his mystique, his environment, and his technology to show people how Apple’s latest innovations will change the world.

10. Bias for Action. They don’t just think, they do.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
— Walt Disney

Most of the great people throughout history have been people of action. Great creatives are no different. In fact, all acts of creation require action. This is another reason that creative geniuses tend
to be very prolific during their lifetimes. Most share a compulsion to create.

Picasso didn’t just sit in the Paris cafés thinking about painting; he painted — sometimes all day and night. “Sometimes I don’t want to paint.” Picasso would tell his friends “Sometimes I must
to paint.”

Jobs and Steve Wozinak physically built the first Apple computer in that legendary garage because having the great idea wasn’t enough. They had to do something with it. Action is not an option for the creative genius. It’s a vital part of the formula.

There is no one formula for creative genius, but these 10 traits represent some of the most important ingredients. Keep stretching, keep searching, and until next time, stay inspired!

Written by Bob Kodzis
Reprinted from Create Magazine

Pearls Before Breakfast

There is a fascinating article in today’s Washington Post that has to be read to be believed. A world famous violinist sets up in a Washington Metro subway station as an experiment to see how many would stop to listen. It’s a great study on human behavior. Can one of the nation’s great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Check out some of the video.

Click for the article

50 Self-Help Classics

A great resource for anyone seeking a ‘bite-sized’ look at the philosophies of many self-help legends. Carefully selected works which have had, for decades, a profound impact on those who read them and then applied the principles.

1. James Allen As a Man Thinketh (1904)
2. S Andreas & C Faulkner (eds) NLP: The New Technology of Achievement (1996)
3. Marcus Aurelius Meditations (2ndC)
4. Martha Beck Finding Your Own North Star (2001)
5. The Bhagavad-Gita
6. The Bible
7. Robert Bly Iron John (1990)
8. Boethius The Consolation of Philosophy (6thC)
9. William Bridges Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes (1980)
10. David D Burns The New Mood Therapy (1980)
11. Joseph Campbell (with Bill Moyers) The Power of Myth (1988)
12. Richard Carlson Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff (1997)
13. Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936)
14. Deepak Chopra The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success (1994)
15. Paulo Coelho The Alchemist (1988)
16. Stephen Covey The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1989)
17. Mihaly Cziksentmihalyi Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (1991)
18. Alain de Botton How Proust Can Change Your Life (1997)
19. The Dalai Lama & Howard Cutler The Art of Happiness (1999)
20. The Dhammapada (Buddha’s teachings)
21. Wayne Dyer Real Magic (1992)
22. Ralph Waldo Emerson Self-Reliance (1841)
23. Clarissa Pinkola Estes Women Who Run With The Wolves (1996)
24. Viktor Frankl Man’s Search For Meaning (1959)
25. Benjamin Franklin Autobiography (1790)
26. Shakti Gawain Creative Visualization (1982)
27. Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence (1995)
28. John Gray Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus (1992)
29. Louise Hay You Can Heal Your Life (1984)
30. James Hillman The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling (1996)
31. Susan Jeffers Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway (1987)
32. Ellen Langer Mindfulness: Choice and Control in Everyday Life (1989)
33. Lao-Tzu Tao-te Ching (The Way of Power)
34. Maxwell Maltz Psycho-Cybernetics (1960)
35. Abraham Maslow Motivation and Personality (1954)
36. Phil C McGraw Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters (2000)
37. Thomas Moore Care of the Soul (1992)
38. Joseph Murphy The Power of Your Subconscious Mind (1963)
39. Norman Vincent Peale The Power of Positive Thinking (1952)
40. Carol Pearson The Hero Within (1989)
41. M Scott Peck The Road Less Traveled (1990)
42. Ayn Rand Atlas Shrugged (1957)
43. Anthony Robbins Awaken The Giant Within (1991)
44. Florence Scovell-Shinn The Game of Life and How To Play It (1923)
45. Martin Seligman Learned Optimism (1991)
46. Samuel Smiles Self-Help (1859)
47. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin The Phenomenon of Man (1955)
48. Henry David Thoreau Walden (1854)
49. Marianne Williamson A Return To Love (1993)
50. Zig Ziglar See You At The Top (1975)

Compiled from the book “50 Self Help Classics” by Tom Butler-Bowdon:

Mind Maps And Boosting Creativity

Mind maps are tools for thinking - diagrams that represent ideas linked and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. They use pictures instead of words, radial branches instead of linear lists and as a result you think different.

Most people think in a linear fashion from point A to point B and so on. Conversations tend to progress along these lines. A linear thinker like this will prioritize thoughts by how far they are removed from a given point. If we are discussing “A”, then “B” is obviously more closely related than “D”.

Mind Mapping does not have this linear pattern of organization. Imagine a group of concentric circles with a series of spokes, or radials, going out from the center. In this arrangement, point “A”, the center, might be as close to point “B” as it is to point “X”, or “Y” or for that matter “Z”. This can result in some very creative problem solving skills.

Similar concepts of image-centered radial graphic organization techniques have been around for centuries used by educators, engineers and psychologist. It has been made popular in recent modern times by psychologist, Tony Buzan, who suggest the following guidelines for constructing a mind map.

1. Start with a central image or theme. Draw the main topic in the middle of the page for maximum space. This will allow for other ideas to radiate from the center.

2. Draw quickly without judging or editing. By editing, you are encouraging linear thinking and the idea of mind mapping is to think creatively and in a non-linear manner. There will be plenty of time for editing the information later, but at this stage it’s important to get every possibility into the mind map.

3. Look for relationships to connect the central idea. Personalize your mind map by using colors, arrows, branches and your own symbols to represent visual and meaningful relationships between ideas which will help your recall and understanding.

Some claim the mind map is a far superior method of taking notes and that mapping takes full advantage of the left / right brain hemispheres. I know I’ve used it on several occasions in my writing and can attest to the fact, it does assist in getting the juices flowing. I’ve also heard this technique has been successfully used in corporate brainstorming exercises. Whatever its success, you won’t know how it may help you unless you give it a try.

For additional information, check out “The Art of Visualization” post at the “How to Change the World”.

Minds Eye Caught On Film

Years ago when I lived in the Bay area, I would make the two hour drive to the Big Sur area of northern California pretty much every weekend. To me, its a photographers paradise. I have traveled all over the world, and in my opinion, Big Sur is by far, the most beautiful place I’ve been. For those willing to put in some walking and a lot of hours waiting for the right conditions, the photographic results can be awesome. The combination of rock, sea and mountains is like no other place I know.

On this one particular weekend, it was very gray and overcast coupled with high winds and periodic downpours. The seas were really boiling against the rocky cliffs. This was going to be a really good weekend for dramatic shots or it was going to be a bust with all the wind and rain. The equipment I use is not very friendly in these conditions. My 4 x 5 wooden view camera requires a tripod and careful setup and is pretty much useless if the wind gets above 15-20 knots. The conditions that weekend easily exceeded 20 knots, but I just knew if I got lucky and hung around that maybe I could get something.

I scouted a location that looked really promising, but the wind was crazy and the rain was nonstop. So I sat in the car and waited. I leaned back in the seat, flipped on some Pink Floyd, closed my eyes and imagined how I would like the shot to come out. I had a vision in my mind what the perfect image would be. It was nothing like the current heavy gray overcast with wind and rain but still, there was this urge to hang around for a little while longer. After another 30 minutes or so, the rain stopped but the wind was still an issue. I don’t know why, but I decided to give it a try.

The image comes alive

I climbed out on this high rocky outpost exposed to some very high winds but at least it wasn’t raining. I remember thinking how fast the clouds were moving. The wind was really whipping me as I tried to set up my equipment. I thought this was nuts, there’s no way this is going to work. But no sooner than I had that thought, the clouds parted and the sun came out. For 15 - 20 seconds, the sun lit up the clouds and sea. I was stunned since it seemed to come out of nowhere. I couldn’t believe it.

I was shocked to see the landscape in front of me. It was the EXACT image I had in my mind while sitting in the car. It was one of those defining moments I will never forget. A few seconds later, the clouds gathered back and the gray overcast returned. Only one thing. I couldn’t remember if I had snapped the cable release. I waited for another hour until dark but the sun never came back. I thought I might have screwed up a perfect opportunity. This was in the days before digital and I wouldn’t know the results until I had the film developed.

The following day, my last day before returning home, I returned to another location that I had been scouting for a couple of months. The scene was never right because of low tide but I returned again for another chance, all the while, envisioning the image in my mind. The wind conditions were horrible, but I felt I had to give it a try. The camera shook from the wind and was sprayed with sea salt but I went ahead and took the shot. I thought it was a total disaster.

The Following Monday

The next day I had the filmed processed and held out a shred of hope that I had captured something. The lab technician handed me the film and I laid the 4 x 5 sheets out on the light table. When I saw the images, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

The two images I had so clearly seen in my mind were captured on film exactly as I had envisioned them. I just stared and smiled at the images. The young lab tech leaned over, took a quick look, “cool”, he said, and walked off. He had no idea just how cool it was. Those two images have been my most popular. Both have been bought many times over and Fuji Film used one of them to market they’re large format film.

I use this process all the time and have captured additional images just as spectacular, but on that particular weekend, it worked really well. Those two images had such a profound impact on my life, that I had to find out more about what I experienced. That experience made me hungry for more information. Did I get lucky? Was it fluke, coincidence? I don’t really know. That’s the easy answer… to dismiss it as some kind of luck or coincidence. But I do know this.

I set myself up to capture those images. I put myself in a position to follow through with the creative process. Despite all outward circumstances of the clouds, wind and rain, I trusted my intuition enough to move forward. I held the images in my mind, trusted the process and let my mind do the seeing. Did I create my luck? Maybe, but I like to think I created my reality.

Is the lesson in this all too allegorical? I mean, I could’ve just given up and driven back home. I honestly don’t know why I didn’t. But it points out a pretty obvious lesson that’s bigger than a couple of photographic images. Just when you think its going bad, and there’s nothing to hang on to… keep following your visions. Never give up on them. Your dreams are your “nows”, just waiting to be walked into. Listen to your inner voice and follow your urge. Keep the vision going and believe in your dreams. They can and will come true.

Copyright 2006 Robert Hunt

Why Can’t I Touch The Sky?

My six-year-old daughter Sophie and I were playing a rhyming game the other day and out of the blue she asked me, “Why can’t I touch the sky?” I laughed inside and thought for a few moments. I tried to explain it from the Jack and the Beanstalk story, but she just just looked at me funny. Then I tried the old earth space thing, but that was too technical. The more I tried, the clumsier it got when finally I realized I wasn’t getting through.

Then I had a realization. What if my daughter had asked the same question to another six year old? What would the other child have said? Some six year olds think they know the answer to everything and its fun to listen to what they have to say. Something tells me her friend wouldn’t have the slightest difficulty in explaining the answer. Chances are, they would have argued and discussed it until finally reaching agreement. I wished I could have turned the question over to an imaginary friend and then sit back and listen to the conversation.

That night while lying in bed, I kept thinking about her question and why I couldn’t come up with a really cool answer. Was it because I had “grown up” and now used my imagination like an “adult”? As I grew, the maturation process obviously had boxed me in. And worse yet… I knew that someday, my little girl just might lose her pure and trusting imagination to adulthood and maybe stop asking these wonderfully creative questions.

I didn’t feel like it was right that I progressed up the ladder of maturity only to lose what I feel is a very important concept: the ability to retain and possess a childlike quality to explore other possibilities. Where did my childlike imagination go? Why did it go? I thought I would ask Sophie this question to help me understand why some adults tend to lose sight of this magical way of thinking and why others make a living by it.

She looked at me with a puzzle on her face and then I knew. It never occurs to her that there’s any other way. Why on earth would a six-year-old little girl dream she couldn’t touch the sky unless somebody told her she couldn’t?

I watch my little girl as she plays. She conducts an imaginary reading class and makes sure each doll pronounces the words correctly. She dresses her babies and gets them ready for they’re day. Her imagination takes wing each and every day to places I’m not aware. Sometimes I can catch a glimpse of her inner world when we sit and talk about her day or what her plans are for tomorrow.

Remember when we were younger, when we used to talk about and imagine what we would become when we grew up? I wanted to be a policeman and my friends wanted to be fireman and race car drivers. We believed anything was possible and we could become whatever we wanted, never doubting the possibilities. As children, we dreamed big.

Children are visionaries and it seems a little sad to think our childlike imagination seems to disappear, as we grow older. As we age, the ever-increasing intrusions of the world on our minds seem to frighten that childlike imagination into full-blown retreat.

As we grew up, we learned why the sky really is blue, and why grass is green. Why flowers need sunlight and how birds really fly. We lose a little bit of the wonder of life around us as we schedule the next meeting or plan tomorrow’s agenda.

I have my daughter to thank for asking her question. It connected me, once again, with my priorities. She made me think about my own potentiality and how I may be limiting myself. Maybe I need to reconnect with my childlike imagination and think more outside the box of adult creativity. If I do that, maybe I can explain in my own six-year-old way, why she can touch the sky.

Copyright 2006 Robert Hunt

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Predicting The Future

Predicting your future. Is it really possible on a practical scale? Is this something that happens only in fables or can an individual actually determine in advance what the future holds? What would your life be like if you knew, without any shadow of doubt, that you could forecast what was in store for you?

Alan Kay, a well known computer scientist and mathematician is often quoted as saying, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it. The future is not laid out on a track. It is something that we can decide, and to the extent that we do not violate any known laws of the universe, we can probably make it work the way that we want to.”

His comments illustrate a serious point. Invent the future. In other words, by creatively imagining the life we prefer to live, go within and invent the circumstance in which to mold future outcomes. Is this dreaming? Yes, in a way it is. Aren’t most, if not all inventions the result of a dreamer? It is dreaming coupled with a serious belief that before anything can exist in physical form, there must first be thought. And that thought is unwavering. It is as solid as the man who thought it. Great men and women throughout history were well aware they’re thoughts molded they’re futures. Marcus Aurelius said, “a man’s life is dyed by the color of his thoughts.” He knew beyond all doubt that his plans of conquest, carried in his head, would come to fruition. Thomas Edison dreamed his future into existence by the sheer tenacity of his work. He envisioned a future of light at a time other men said it couldn’t be done.

In my opinion, we foretell our futures everyday whether we’re conscious of it or not. We may not dream of conquering foreign lands, or life changing inventions, but we do pave the way to our future with our thoughts and beliefs whether we are conscious of them or not. The best predictors are those who are deliberately aware that they can foresee they’re future. They see it as very real and only a matter of time before events and circumstances collide to produce they’re visions.

Those individuals who have disciplined they’re thoughts, who have trained they’re consciousness to focus on desired outcomes are the ones who can best predict they’re futures. It’s done everyday. Donald Trump, Larry Ellison, and Bill Gates are premier examples.

Most of us simply think by default and assume that occurrences happen to us rather than our thoughts creating the occurrences. In other words, we have it flipped around. Instead of the old saying, “I’ll believe it when I see it“… how about, “I’ll see it when I believe it.”

James Allen wrote the classic, - “As A Man Thinketh.” In my opinion, this is one of the most important books of our time. The powerful philosophy of this book illustrates the best in thought dynamics. What a person thinks about is what he becomes… that a person becomes his dream. Your thoughts will shape your circumstances and therefore your future. Ideals and visions constantly acted upon will result in eventual attainment. You are the best predictor of your future.

This article is Copyright © 2006 by Robert Hunt

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[tags]thoughts, future, As A Man Thinketh, Alan Kay, Invent, imagining, predict, vision, Donald Trump, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates,[/tags]

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