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
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
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?)
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
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.
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
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 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 …
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.
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!
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
Today I share with you the Number One resource that’s been downloaded from my website over the last five years…
Reflective Practice is a technique used by professionals such as teachers, nurses and therapists to increase their learning and effectiveness on the job. At its simplest, it is applying critical reflection to incidents or situations we’d like to understand more fully or get a different outcome with in the future.
I learned about Reflective Practice as part of my psych education and found it perfect for my ongoing professional development when I started coaching. Initially I used it for myself – to understand myself better and become a more effective coach. Then I started using it with my mentee coach clients to help them understand themselves and their coaching better. In 2005 I gave a presentation to an ICF Chapter and that’s where the original worksheet (Reflective Practice For Coaches) came from. Since then I’ve used a variation of it with a range of clients who just wanted to understand themselves and a situation better or be more effective in the work.
So I’ve updated the worksheet to be ‘Reflective Practice for the rest of us’ (or Reflective Practice For Work and Life). No matter what you do, you can use this simple technique to respond more thoughtfully in highly charged social situations or relationships, or, be more effective at work.
Reflective Practice brings awareness, insight and simple steps for change.
