News for the ‘Brilliant!’ Category

Brilliant! Ideas for Work and Life ::: November 2010

Brilliant! Ideas for Work and Life

THE NEWSLETTER OF WORKLIFEDESIGN

NOVEMBER 2010

Somewhere in the space between that which exists and that which has yet to be imagined, sparks of Brilliance fly.

Happy end of the month (or is it beginning of the new month?)! Here are the Brilliant! posts from November.

BRILLIANT! A BLOG, A ONLINE MAG AND A MOOK: THREE BRILLIANT PUBLICATIONS

3 brilliant publications

Brilliant ideas are all around us. The challenge today seems to be identifying those that can actually provide some insight into the questions or issues that we are facing.

To sort through the chaff, I find I will listen to the recommendations by colleagues, clients, family, friends and trusted interweb sources. They’ll often mention magazines, books, blogs, websites, events or simply ideas that are inspiring them.

Three of these little gems have really impressed me this year. … read more

BRILLIANT! WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM



Finding innovative solutions to problems is a common challenge in work and in life.

In most circumstances the way to proceed is often clear or doesn’t take long to become clear through asking a few simple questions. But other times no matter how many lists of possibilities I roll through, the answer doesn’t appear.

A current situation for me is the naming of a new project. I am fairly clear in what I want the name to communicate but do you think I can find ‘the name’? The frustrating thing is that I know it exists, it’s just not existing in my view yet.

With this in mind, I watched the TED talk, above, by Steven Johnson (a different Steven Johnson from last month) entitled “Where good ideas come from” to see if I could crack my own good idea… read more

AND, IN THE STUDIO THIS MONTH …

THE STUDIO: CLARITY AND DIRECTION WITH THE OMG! WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?! EBOOK

OMG! What am I doing with my life? ebook

With the silly season fast approaching, I thought it might be timely to share with you my little all-in-one resource for those who may be scheduling some existential angst or career crisis over the coming months.

This 30-page ebook helps you work out what you want from life and how you can start making it happen.

To download your very own copy of OMG!WAIDWML (catchy, hey?)

just follow this special

Subscriber Only Download

link

THE STUDIO: CREATE A VIBRANT, COMPELLING VISION FOR YOUR LIFE WITH YOUR FUTURE LETTER : EXERCISE

WHERE ARE YOU HEADED?

This is one of the four basic questions I always ask someone who wants to change some part of their life or work. I find that we can be very good at detailing what’s wrong or what we don’t want or how things should be different, but very few people are clear about what they do want. So is it any surprise that we have difficulty making decisions when we have nothing to guide us? Today’s Studio treat is an exercise that is surprisingly simple and yet quite powerful… The Future Letter

Brilliant! Ideas For Work and Life is written and collated by Trish Weston. Everything in it is her opinion, with a smattering of facts to make it hold together. If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to email trish AT worklifedesign DOT com DOT au

© Copyright 2010 You may copy, forward or distribute Brilliant! if this copyright notice and full information for contacting Trish Weston are included.

If you have received Brilliant! from a friend and would like to subscribe, just go here.

If you would like to unsubscribe, there’s a link below that will remove you from the mailing list

Posted: December 1st, 2010
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Brilliant! A blog, a online mag and a mook: Three brilliant publications

Brilliant ideas are all around us. The challenge today seems to be identifying those that can actually provide some insight into the questions or issues that we are facing.

To sort through the chaff, I find I will listen to the recommendations by colleagues, clients, family, friends and trusted interweb sources. They’ll often mention magazines, books, blogs, websites, events or simply ideas that are inspiring them.

Three of these little gems have really impressed me this year.

the design files

type blog

www.thedesignfiles.net

Caste your mind back to a time before the internet… drift … drift … drift … Did you ever cut out photos, ads, illustrations, products, etc from magazines and keep a file of your cherished desired items? No? Oh well, I’ve been a long time fan of The File and I love seeing what’s in Lucy Feagin’s File on all things designie. She interviews all sorts of creative types about their work and life and also features interiors of homes that are alive with their occupants’ obsessions, passions and personalities. One of my favourite posts this year has been on notebooks (you know, those things some of us still scribble in) but I’m just as taken by the furniture, fabrics and art of local makers. Lucy is truly gifted in finding the gorgeous and often simple objects that make our spaces full of wonder and beauty. [the design files: recommended by Kate James]

dumbo feather, pass it on

type mook

www.dumbofeather.com

I’m fairly new to the dumbo feather world but it is certainly a place that I intend to regularly visit. dumbo feather is a mook (sort of a magazine, sort of a book) and each quarterly issue features the stories of  five ‘remarkable individuals’. There a side-articles within each feature which draw out some of the ideas touched on a little more.  I find as I bounce from one article to the next, I keep being struck by a strange feeling. It’s the feeling that something very special is being said. It’s the feeling that this little mook is quite brilliant – not only in the people and ideas it gives space but how it does it. It looks and feels beautiful. [dumbo feather: recommended by Kate James]

fear.less

type online mag

www.fearlessstories.com

Fear is one of those things that most of us are well acquainted with. It holds us back, makes us do stupid things and usually oversteps its purpose of keeping us alive. So this magazine, that features the unique stories of people overcoming fear, is such a treasure. I like it because it has interviews with people I greatly admire such as Robert Thurman, Sharon Salzberg, Karen Armstron, Ben Zander and Howard Zinn as well as people I’ve never heard of who are just getting out there and living (as the blurb says) ‘remarkable lives’. fear.less is a free monthly online magazine that you can download or view online. [fear.less recommended by Christine McDougall]

How stories can help you remember what’s important

Sometimes I discover new ideas or designs or artists or writers through these publications, but mostly they help me remember.

I’ll be looking through the photos of someone’s home in The Design Files and remember that I really like a particular period of furniture design, or art, or fabric or the way light can be used to change the mood of a room. I remember how physical objects impact upon my space.

I’ll be looking at an issue of fear.less and remember that I really quite like the way Seth Godin formats his ebooks in landscape so you don’t have to scroll down and down and down and down. Or, I’ll remember that ebooks don’t have to look like books but can have their very own style which makes them easy to read and easy on the eye.

I’ll be looking at dumbo feather and remember that writing doesn’t have to be so minimalist. I’ll remember that stories that inspire don’t have to be “woo I’ve made it. I’m so cool.” but can have doubts and obstacles and heartache. In fact they are better if they do because they are more realistic and show the resilience and creativity of the human spirit. In the face of all this crap, this person continues.

It’s brilliant ideas like this that help me remember what’s important, and being aware of that makes all the difference in how I work and live.

You can receive a roundup of Brilliant! Ideas for Work and Life in your Inbox every month by subscribing to the Brilliant! newsletter here

Posted: November 30th, 2010
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Brilliant! Where good ideas come from

Steven Johnson’s TEDtalk: Where do good ideas come from?

Finding innovative solutions to problems is a common challenge in work and in life.

I find in most circumstances the way to proceed is often clear or doesn’t take long to become clear through asking a few simple questions. But other times no matter how many lists of possibilities I roll through, the answer doesn’t appear.

A current situation for me is the naming of a new project. I am fairly clear in what I want the name to communicate but do you think I can find ‘the name’? The frustrating thing is that I know it exists, it’s just not existing in my view yet.

With this in mind, I watched the TED talk, above, by Steven Johnson (a different Steven Johnson from last month) entitled “Where good ideas come from”.

Johnson is interested in the environments that allow high levels of innovation. He believes that, contrary to popular thought, most good ideas aren’t lightbulb or eureka moments but instead, an idea is a network cobbled together from all the other ideas around it. Good ideas come from the ideas having a space to mature and, in his words, have sex with other ideas.

Johnson uses the example of the first British coffee houses’ influence on the Age of Enlightenment. The introduction of caffeine into a population used to alcohol as their beverage of choice, along with the space where these newly stimulated minds could come together and debate, argue and reason with each other, set forth a subculture of ideas that changed history.

Johnson is also keen on the concept of the slow hunch where an idea has a very long incubation period. As an example, he refers to Darwin’s evolutionary ideas, which existed in his writings well before he presented them as a clear theory.

So what’s this mean for us? How do we tap into these idea networks? Do we need to imbibe stimulants in the company of others to find our solutions?

While I’m quite fond of an occasional caffeinated beverage in a public house, I don’t think it’s necessary. For me, the key is asking the question and then being open to the ideas around me interacting with the original idea. So that might happen by having a conversation with a friend or colleague, reading a paper or a magazine, participating in an online forum, wandering through the library or just sitting on the beach.

It’s about creating the space for the idea to form.

Which is what I think Johnson is getting at – whether it’s a physical space, social space, mental space or temporal space.

So where does that leave me with my project name? Well, I’ve been asking lots of questions of lots of people lately but it’s all come back to “Here’s my dilemma. What do you think?” The answers have been diverse and sometimes unexpected.

While I still don’t have “the name”, the process has been excellent for helping me clarify the boundaries as well as the possibilities for the project.

Perhaps all I now need to accept is that this project may need a slow incubation.

Or a lot more caffeine. ;)

Or mindfulness.

Or trips to the beach.

Or…

You can receive a roundup of Brilliant! Ideas for Work and Life in your Inbox every month by subscribing to the Brilliant! newsletter here

Posted: November 25th, 2010
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Brilliant!: Human-powered appliances: Tapping the potential of people power

Pedal Power gym

Get on your bike! Pedal-powered Ridgefield Fitness Club photo by Green Revolution

It all started with the 1973 dystopian science fiction film, Soylent Green. Most people who see this film remember the food stuff of the title but I remember scene with the bicycle-powered electricity. For years after watching the film I wondered how you could rig a bike to generate enough electricity to run a small appliance such as a tv or a computer.

I know the idea of people power is not new. History-textbook images easily spring to mind of roman galleons powered by oar-wielding humans and huge stones being dragged up a pyramid by, yes, humans. And, indeed, in our contemporary lives we still have humans behind most actions, slavishly pushing those keys on the keyboard or maneouvring those hulking great mining dump trucks.

But much work today has been automated to minimise human energy required and maximise the use of our treasured energy resources. While the smart and savvy are exploring alternative sources of energy (such as the sun, the wind or some other thing we’d need to dig out of the ground), I wonder where could we passively harness human energy and convert it to electricity?

Football fields? Dance floors? City streets?

stepperwash by steven m johnson

StepperWash by Stephen M Johnson

Steven M Johnson has also spent a lot of time contemplating the question of harnessing human power. His illustrations of human-powered appliances are brilliant. The Pedal Wash, Stepper Wash, Wash Cycle and Vanity Cycle may not have contemporary apple-styling but I love the way Steven has imagined the possibilities. Okay, the Exervac is somewhat disturbing but I think that’s more to do with the 80s-style leotard.

During some of the hundreds of hours I’ve spent sweating it out on a bike or rowing machine at the gym I’ve often thought it would be great to harness some of this. When a gym manager was telling me how he was addressing the gym’s skyrocketing electricity costs by turning off all lights when they weren’t needed, I had a hunch that the idea of the people-powered gym might become a reality. I looked at the banks of bikes, steppers, and rowing machines and thought, “That’s where your electricity could be coming from”. Energy in, energy out and where’s it going? Nowhere.

Well, I’m happy to tell you that the people-powered gym is now a reality. A number of gyms around the world are tapping the energy of their members and it seems that it’s win-win-win all round. Less fossil-fuel electricity is used, the energy generated by the members is used to run the machines and lights of the gym, and in some cases, the members get credits for energy they’ve contributed to the system. It a beautiful whole-system approach to business, fitness and the environment.

It’s also heartening to see some of these gyms promoting their human power globally. The more people who see that it’s possible then the more it will be adopted or adapted. Perhaps even my friend the gym owner, who recently refurbed his entire gym with brand new energy-guzzling, tv-on-every-machine equipment might even see its potential.

You might ask, how important is it to reduce the energy consumption of the gymnasiums of the wealthy? Well, every little bit helps but really this is about the development and promotion of  the ideas.

When this little butterfly of an idea flaps its wings, it takes very little for it to become a pedal-powered water pump that dramatically changes the lives of a community in India or a remote area of Australia.

You never know where a brilliant, life-saving idea will come from.

Posted: October 29th, 2010
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Brilliant: The ultimate life declutter: Could you reduce your possessions to 100 things?

some of my 100 items : trish weston

If you could only own 100 things, what would be on your list?

Do I really need five towels? 15 pairs of shoes? A different shirt for each day of the month? What would it be like to live with so few possessions?

I realise that a great proportion of the world’s population probably already does so but, for those of us in the West who have been reared on a high-fat diet of consumption, this is almost unthinkable.

But I am starting to think about it.

Over on on my personal blog, I’ve been exploring what my 100 things are. The “100” number and the idea to explore the limits of my own material possessions came from a couple of brilliant life experiments that have been getting a bit of attention lately.

Kelly Sutton, at The Cult of Less, has been selling off his material possessions online over the last year. If you check out his website, you’ll get an idea of what he’s found important by the types of items he keeps, sells and gives away. Kelly’s goal is to reduce his possession to two bags and two boxes.

Could you imagine all your possessions fitting into two bags and two boxes?

This idea does my mind in. I can barely imagine it – let alone imagine doing it. But then I’m very new to this. I have been an out and proud hoarder all my life.

But seeing as Spring Cleaning has been on my mind lately and as I’ve been living between two homes (and thus out of a backpack) for the last few months, I’ve started observing my “must have” items. These are the things that travel back and forth with me or I have one of each at both locations. But what else would be in my two boxes and two bags?

That’s brought me to Dave Bruno’s 100 Thing Challenge. In 2007, Dave set himself the challenge to reduce his possession count to 100 – and then live 12 months with only 100 possessions.

By setting a number, you set up one of your “design limitations” and start working around it – and in that place I’ve found that it becomes really clear what’s important to have around me all the time and what are the things that are nice but I don’t need.

What I love about both of these approaches to minimising “stuff” is that it shakes up our cultural assumptions about material possessions and consumption.  Mainly, that to consume is to live, or, that our freedom comes from our freedom to consume.

Plus, there’s nothing like de-cluttering your life and opening up the space (physical, psychological, emotional) to with as you want. As Kelly says, the greatest thing he’s got from his minimalist life is freedom.

Or is it simply, less is more.

You can receive a roundup of Brilliant! ideas for work and life in your Inbox every month by subscribing to the Brilliant! newsletter here

Posted: October 24th, 2010
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Brilliant! Ideas for work and life: September 2010




Brilliant! Ideas for Work and Life

THE NEWSLETTER OF WORKLIFEDESIGN

SEPTEMBER 2010

Somewhere in the space between that which exists and that which has yet to be imagined, sparks of Brilliance fly. Some of the ideas you’ll find here will be able to be applied immediately, some will be not-quite-ready and some will be wild imaginings.

Enjoy!

Trish

SOMETIMES THE SOLUTION IS RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE. LITERALLY.

Just Breathe wall decal by innercircledesign

The brilliance of mindfulness

Today’s brilliant! idea is to breathe. I know, you’re thinking I’ve gone all new age, woo-woo, bumper sticker (“Remember to breathe!”) but beyond the butterflies and dolphins there really is something in this one.

The particular approach to reconnecting with our breath I’m talking about is called Mindfulness. It’s a pretty hot area at the moment with what seems to be every therapist and their cat is incorporating it into their practice… READ MORE

DANCE WITH SOMEONE ON SKYPE

Dance in motion pic by Trish

This week, another idea jumped out at me from a blog’s comments section.

Over at the Herman Miller Lifework blog, they have a column called The Playlist where they interview people about the music that inspires them as they work.

Recently, they interviewed gallerist/artist/curator/writer,  Annie Wharton, and she provided an eclectic playlist of tunes that work for her – from Duran Duran and Lady Gaga to Peaches and The Normal. However, it was in a parenthesied side-note to Lady Gaga’s Alejandro that she revealed her Brilliant! idea …. READ MORE

FIVE MINUTE RULE TO OVERCOME PROCRASTINATION

Sometimes Brilliant! Ideas come from the most unexpected places

I found the following Five Minute Rule to overcome procrastination from Page Lambert in the comments section of a blog about escaping from the slow death of an office job.

“My father, Loren Dunton (internationally recognized Father of Financial Planning) used to have what he called his Five Minute Rule to help overcome procrastination so that he was ACTING rather than AVOIDING. He knew that the hardest thing to overcome in terms of getting any project started, was INERTIA. So he played a game with himself: “Dunton,” he’d say, “you don’t have to write the ENTIRE article today…”  READ MORE


WAIT TILL YOU HEAR THIS!

Snow White Macbook decal

*Snow White Macbook vinyl decal

The most Brilliant podcast/radio ever: The I Wish Song

My favouritest radio show/podcast in the world, This American Life, did one of the most amazing introductions I’ve ever heard in this week’s (replayed) episode, Promised Land.

The host, Ira Glass, recounts how upon watching the 1937 Disney classic Snow White recently, he noticed how it has almost an operatic feeling with each of the main characters entering the story with a song. When he mentions this to his sister (who works for Disney) she informs him that what he’s seeing is the “I Wish” song in action. It’s a common storytelling technique that’s used in musicals where the character declares exactly what they want in that first song.

As Ira lists through all the musicals (classic and contemporary) that have I Wish Songs, I’m gobsmacked to hear how common it is. Think, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” starts off The Wizard of Oz, or, the Britney Spears’ film Crossroads which begins with her singing Madonna’s “Open Your Heart”. The Little Mermaid. Fiddler on the Roof. Funny Girl. All begin with the main character’s I Wish song.

What makes this intro so brilliant though is what happens next… READ MORE

NEW this month in THE STUDIO

HOW TO BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE AT WORK (AND RESPONSIVE IN LIFE!) WITH REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

It’s hard to believe that this is the Number One resource that’s been downloaded from my website over the last five years…

GET YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW! WORKSHEET

This week I’m sharing one of my personal worksheets. This is what I use to stay focused and to minimise those 3.00am eyes-bolt-open, oh-my-god-what-am-I-doing moments.

THE ULTIMATE LIFE COACHING TOOL? ALL HAIL THE UBIQUITOUS WHEEL OF LIFE

I don’t use the Wheel of Life much these days (as most of my work with client’s is work-focused) but when I do, I’m always blown away by how effective it is. After this simple 10 minute exercise, a client often has new insight into their lives, clarity about their life and work direction, and renewed energy. It’s pretty neat… which is why I share it with you now. Enjoy!

GET ORGANISED WITH YOUR MONDAY MORNING WEEKLY ACTIONS WORKSHEET (MMWAW!)

Ahh, Monday morning. How I love thee…

Taking some time-out on Monday mornings to organise my week is essential.  I’ve found that I need to move beyond a to-do list of things that need my urgent attention and check in with what’s important (goals and priorities), what I need to do to realise these priorities and scheduling it into my calendar.



What’s happening?

Spring Clean Your Life! To celebrate the beginning of Spring in the southern hemisphere (yay!), I’m running special spring clean sessions so you can clear the clutter, chaos and confusion from your life and work. More details here

Business Action Groups New BAGs are starting in Noosa and Brisbane in October. If you’re a solo business owner who’d like a bit of support, inspiration and action in your venture then join us for our innovative business peer support program. More details here

Do a friend a favour … If you’ve found Brilliant! entertaining, informative or worthy distraction from work, then please forward on to friends and colleagues who may be interested.




Brilliant! Ideas For Work and Life is written and collated by Trish Weston. Everything in it is her opinion, with a smattering of facts to make it hold together. If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to email trish AT worklifedesign DOT com DOT au

© Copyright 2010 You may copy, forward or distribute Brilliant! if this copyright notice and full information for contacting Trish Weston are included.

If you have received Brilliant! from a friend and would like to subscribe, just go here.

If you would like to unsubscribe, there’s a link below that will remove you from the mailing list.

Posted: September 21st, 2010
Categories: Brilliant!
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Brilliant! The solution that’s right under your nose. Literally.: The brilliance of Mindfulness

Just Breathe wall decal by innercircledesign*

Today’s brilliant! idea is to breathe. I know, you’re thinking I’ve gone all new age, woo-woo, bumper sticker (“Remember to breathe!”) but beyond the butterflies and dolphins there really is something in this one.

The particular approach to reconnecting with our breath I’m talking about is called mindfulness. It’s a pretty hot area at the moment with what seems to be every therapist and their cat is incorporating it into their practice.

I’ve recently started a book group centred around the mindfulness classic, Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and am gaining such a deep respect for the approach.

At its simplest, mindfulness is about moment to moment awareness. The breath is used as an anchor to focus the mind, and from their you can increase your field of awareness to include body sensations, sound, sight and thoughts.

One of the most significant changes I’ve experienced through mindfulness practice is being able to observe my thinking and not be so influenced by the emotional charge attached to certain thoughts. For example, a deadline is not the be-all and end-all of life. It is a signpost; life will go on after the passes, there will be more deadlines in the future. Anxiety, stress, worry disappears. Now I can go and be fully present in doing what I need to do (rather than a ball of frazzled energy).

The other great thing about Mindfulness is how it incorporates the body. We are such a body-obsessed culture and yet very few of us are truly connected with our bodies, able to feel where our emotions manifest or how to live fully in our bodies. As someone who lives most of my life in my head, Mindfulness is a breath of fresh air. [sorry, I am trying to keep the puns to a minimum]

There’s a scene in the classic Al Pacino film, Scarface, where the Pacino character, Tony Montana, is sharing his drug-lord words-of-wisdom to his young protege (who thinks that now he’s a big-time dealer he can spend his time chasing women):

First you get the money,

Then you get the power,

THEN you get the woman.

In a similar, and yet oh-so-different way, Mindfulness has three sequential elements:

First, you get to relax

Then you get the clarity

THEN you get the energy (channelled effectively and responsively in stressful situations)

In other words, by simply focusing on your breath you are able to handle whatever life throws at you.

And that’s Brilliant!

You can receive a roundup of Brilliant! ideas for work and life in your Inbox every month by subscribing to the Brilliant! newsletter here

Posted: September 15th, 2010
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Brilliant! Dance with someone on skype

This week, another idea jumped out at me from a blog’s comments section.

Over at the Herman Miller Lifework blog, they have a column called The Playlist where they interview people about the music that inspires them as they work.

Recently, they interviewed gallerist/artist/curator/writer,  Annie Wharton, and she provided an eclectic playlist of tunes that work for her – from Duran Duran and Lady Gaga to Peaches and The Normal. However, it was in a parenthesied side-note to Lady Gaga’s Alejandro that she revealed her Brilliant! idea:

“There is a very sweet backstory here involving this music video and dancing to it with someone via Skype”

What’s so Brilliant! about this?

Dancing + Skype = Brilliant!

Pretty simple.

Okay, what makes this truly Brilliant! is someone using a fairly ubiquitous tool/technology (ie skype) in a unique way. Sure, bored teenagers have probably been dancing on skype for years but for those of us who use it as a work tool (or to catch-up with far-off friends) this is a brave new world.

Once you realise that Skype doesn’t equal sitting stationary in front of a webcam, then you can begin wondering what else can you do with it? (Yes, okay, now move on from the obvious…) While videoconferencing has been around for a long time, are we finally at a stage where the technology will allow anything that can be done in person to also be done by skype?

As with many tech advances it is both exciting and frightening. But that’s what Brilliance is: Powerful. Revolutionary. Life changing.

Here’s the kicker (or, my little lesson) on this Brilliant! idea.

I didn’t notice the skype-dancing aside when I read the article. It only came to my attention because there was one comment on the piece which said dancing on skype was a cool idea.

That made me think about how there are Brilliant! ideas all around us but we often don’t see them. While it’s all well and good surrounding ourselves with like-minded people, it’s also very helpful to have people in our lives who sees things from a different perspective (or at least read articles fully!). Or, to give ourselves the opportunity to see things from a different perspective …

So, go on, do something different – dance with someone on Skype tonight… you never know what might emerge.

You can receive a roundup of Brilliant! ideas for work and life in your Inbox every month by subscribing to the Brilliant! newsletter here

Posted: September 3rd, 2010
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Brilliant! Five Minute Rule to overcome procrastination

Sometimes Brilliant! ideas can come from the most unexpected of places.

I found the following Five Minute Rule to overcome procrastination from Page Lambert in the comments section of a blog about escaping from the slow death of an office job.

“My father, Loren Dunton (internationally recognized Father of Financial Planning) used to have what he called his Five Minute Rule to help overcome procrastination so that he was ACTING rather than AVOIDING. He knew that the hardest thing to overcome in terms of getting any project started, was INERTIA. So he played a game with himself: “Dunton,” he’d say, “you don’t have to write the ENTIRE article today, you just have to spend 5 minutes on it. Then you can go play 18 holes.” Then he’d set the egg timer for 5 minutes. He knew that once he’d invested 5 minutes on a project, he would’ve overcome inertia and created momentum. Usually, when the egg timer went off, he’d spend another half an hour, or maybe even an hour. But he also knew that at the end of 5 minutes, he could go play that round of golf!”

Source:  Page Lambert Comment on Tiny Steps Make Major Leaps at Escape From Cubicle Nation, 8 December, 2009

As someone who has been on BFF terms with procrastination in the past, I love this idea. I’ve found a similar approach, The 60 Minute Rule, works for me. I set aside 60 minutes to do a task, with the attitude of “what gets done gets done” and usually find that once I get into the task (and find my Flow! yay!) I can work on it for hours.

Not only is this a great idea for shifting through inertia or fear (in a light and playful way), but it’s also a great example of how to write a smart blog comment. (I love reading comments where the person is actually sharing something new, adding to the conversation.)

So 3 Sparkly Brilliant! Stars to Page and her father!

Brilliant! idea to shift through inertia and fear

Brilliant! way to comment on blogs

Brilliant! legacy to leave your daughter

Would you like to receive a monthly roundup of Brilliant! ideas for work and life? You can subscribe to our monthly Brilliant! newsletter here

Posted: August 27th, 2010
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Brilliant!: Wait till you hear this: Most brilliant podcast/radio ever

The I Wish Song

My favouritest radio show/podcast in the world, This American Life, did one of the most amazing introductions I’ve ever heard in this week’s (replayed) episode, Promised Land.

The host, Ira Glass, recounts how upon watching the 1937 Disney classic Snow White recently, he noticed how it has almost an operatic feeling with each of the main characters entering the story with a song. When he mentions this to his sister (who works for Disney) she informs him that what he’s seeing is the “I Wish” song in action. It’s a common storytelling technique that’s used in musicals where the character declares exactly what they want in that first song.

As Ira lists through all the musicals (classic and contemporary) that have I Wish Songs, I’m gobsmacked to hear how common it is. Think, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” starts off The Wizard of Oz, or, the Britney Spears’ film Crossroads which begins with her singing Madonna’s “Open Your Heart”. The Little Mermaid. Fiddler on the Roof. Funny Girl. All begin with the main character’s I Wish song.

What makes this intro so brilliant though is what happens next. If all these cascading aha’s weren’t enough, Ira then launches into his own I Wish song for the episode. It’s adorable and clever and unexpected (oops, maybe not for you now).

The triply brilliant thing about this is that it illustrates, in such a beautiful and creative way, what we know about successful change (and all the characters in these stories are about to go through pretty significant change). We need to set our intention, say what we want, or as Stephen Covey puts it, “Begin with the end in mind”.

And I wondered, seeing as this is my first Brilliant! post, what would my I Wish song be? What tune would carry the hopes and dreams of a little blog that could?

So here it is. Cue the orchestra. Put on your 3D glasses …

To the tune of the “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” (the ‘joy’ opener from Oklahoma), here is my Brilliant! I Wish song:

(Here’s the original music if you’d like to sing along!)

The Brilliant! I Wish Song

There are brilliant ideas all around us
There are brilliant ideas all around us
But they seem to be hidden from everyone’s eye
An’ if we could just see them then we would all fly

chorus:
Oh what a beautiful idea
Oh what a beautiful way
I’ve got a wonderful feeling
This will so brighten your day

All the people are following like sheep
All the people are following like sheep
They don’t allow their ideas to see light
But this time I think they may just, they might.

Repeat chorus

All the brilliant ideas will inspire you
All the brilliant ideas will inspire you
When you find your own it will set you free
And in no time at all you’ll be laughin’ with me

What’s your I Wish song? What film’s I Wish song do you particularly love??

Go listen to the inspiration now

This American Life. Episode 259: Promised Land

And while you’re there, subscribe to their weekly downloads. They are brilliant.

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Posted: August 20th, 2010
Categories: Brilliant!
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