I linked to this talk in my previous Sunday’s Top Links, but wanted to share again in case you missed it.
Sir Ken Robinson, in another humorous and insightful TED Talk, explains what’s wrong with education and the importance of curiosity, teaching, and creativity.
Also, if you somehow haven’t seen his infamous first TED Talk, check it out here.
Welcome to this week’s links!
The best way to come up with new ideas is to combine them. Find out 5 ways to cross-pollinate your ideas.
Kickstarter is a resounding success and competitors are growing in numbers, so is crowdfunding here to stay?
Ken Robinson is back in this TED Talk explaining the 3 principles of education that we need to embrace to navigate education’s death valley.
If you don’t understand the problem, how can you solve it? A key point in problem solving is being able to clearly identify the problem.
Here are 10 theories from various philosopher’s and scientiest that just might change how you think about the world.
And if you missed last week’s links, find them here.
Also check out my Flipboard Magazine – Always Be Curious.
I’ve heard a lot about information overload lately and how it’s killing our productivity. How we get analysis by paralysis or are all suffering from A.D.D. In short, this notion is absolutely ridiculous.
I can understand that some people may have trouble adapting to the sudden influx of information readily available to us, but the problem isn’t too much information, the problem is we don’t know what to do with it.
More importantly, it’s become clear that information is going to continue growing exponentially and become more and more accessible.
So how can information overload be a myth? Because we are now beginning to understand how to handle all of this information in two clear ways.
With the exponential increase in information, there was no real way to organize it, which was the first major challenge encountered.
Now, we’ve started to create structures and filters around our information in the form of reviews and curators and search engines, all of which make it easier to both filter and access the information we NEED.
This is the key point – there has always been a lot of information available, but all of a sudden we had access to all of it through the internet.
As we further develop tools and platforms, the organization of this information allows us to use it much more effectively and efficiently.
2. Adaptation To Information
The second piece of the puzzle is adapting to the new standard of information surplus, which I believe the next generation will be masters at.
For example, just look at how a kid does homework nowadays. Music is blasting, the TV is on, they’re texting their friends, and browsing Facebook – all while writing a paper on American History or doing Calculus homework.
They’ve adapted and embraced the excess information at such a young age that the idea of information overload becomes laughable.
It’s clear that information will continue to grow, but our organization of it and adaptation to it, makes the thought of information overload a myth.
Image Source: http://bit.ly/10lxN3g
Welcome to this week’s top links!
Each company approaches branding in a unique way, find out the secrets of these 7 successful brands.
There are four unique working styles: doing, leading, loving, and learning. What’s yours?
Words aren’t needed to tell this fantastic story about two people and a wild adventure.
4. A Case For Why Green Design Must Be Beautiful
An interesting exploration as to why green design has to focus more on aesthetics and not just function.
A new study explores the link between music, pleasure, and neuroscience.
And if you missed last week’s links check them out here.
First introduced my Cyril Northcote Parkinson in an essay in the Economist, Parkinson’s Law is as follows:
Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
Wise words that we often don’t think about when we work. For example, if you take on a project and give yourself 24 hours to complete it, the time constraint forces you to get creative and focus on the bare essentials. In the end, not only do you get the work done, but you often innovate along the way.
On the other hand, if you have a week to complete the same project, you build it up in complexity and unnecessary distractions. In the end, you still don’t get a lot of the real work done until closer to the deadline. Imagine the same situation for a project that is due in 2 months or even without a deadline – sounds like a disaster.
How can we take advantage of this? We need to embrace constraints and use them to our advantage. When this happens naturally, such as when we have a task that requires immediate attention, simply go with the flow and get it done.
More often than not, our work lacks that immediate urgency. In these cases, we need to manufacture our own hard deadlines and by doing so, we can eliminate our tendency to procrastinate.
For those projects that are larger in scope, we need to break them down into clearly defined, manageable chunks, and use a similar approach.
Ultimately it comes down to creating urgency for your work that may otherwise not naturally be there. So the question becomes, how do you create urgency?
Welcome to this weeks top links!
At the 10th Annual Skoll World Forum we get ten ideas that can change the future of social entrepreneurship and make the world a better place.
Why do we really feel good about our work? Not money or joy. Dan Ariely explores what truly motivates us – progress.
Not forever of course, but you should be familiar with every position in your company so you understand problems and realize ideas.
We all love the show and now we can see why the 1960′s served as the creative revolution in advertising.
Storytelling not only helps you sell a product but also design it. See how story can be used to make products both beautiful and functional.
And if you missed last week’s links, check them out here.
Words of wisdom on creativity from the book Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon.
Welcome to this week’s top links!
News leads to fear, aggression, and hinders creativity – giving it up will make you happier.
In the latest Dove Beauty Campaign, two people describe the same person to a forensic artist – check out what happens.
TIME has released their latest list of 100 most influential people in the world, check it out.
The man behind an unconventional brand, Johnny Cupcakes shares his lessons on how to think different.
Love documentaries? Here’s 9 recent documentaries that are must sees for this year.
And if you missed last week’s links, find them here.
You’ll always find those that say no. You can’t do it, you’re wasting your time, your idea is stupid. This can be detrimental to those who actually try to create in the world, but you must quickly realize something if you hope to succeed.
A creator is a tiger, someone who gives and contributes to society in the best way they know how. Everyone can create in some way.
The naysayers are sheep, they don’t understand why anyone would create, what it means, where it can take you and the value you gain from it.
If the tiger doesn’t learn to ignore the sheep, he will fail. The tiger will falter in his confidence, his beliefs and ideals. He will lose his passion and suffer and eventually, he too will become a sheep, full of negative energy and pessimism.
But if he can disregard the sheep, he can prosper. Other tigers will support him, inspire him, and he will see his goals realized, not always in success but in lessons and growth and pride.
Be a tiger. Ignore the sheep.
Welcome to this week’s top links!
Research now shows that thinking does take a toll on your body – so if you go on vacation be sure to turn off your brain too.
A fun mind game from Smart Kit has you swap images to complete pictures, testing your visual acumen.
An intriguing piece on how your lifestyle has already been designed in the typical 9 – 5 career.
We all use it in the morning, probably multiple times, but should we? ASAP Science explores the snooze button.
While most people are searching for happiness, Leo Babauta argues why we should be more focused on contentment.
And if you missed last week’s links find them here.
Also check out my Flipboard Magazine ‘Always Be Curious’
I recently finished Mastery by Robert Greene, a great book exploring the process of becoming a master.
There are several great biographical stories on the various paths to mastery by some of the greatest figures in history (Leonardo Da Vinci, Benjamin Franklin, etc), as well as an in depth guide for reaching mastery. A process that has three key steps.
Understanding your inner calling is the first and foremost step towards mastery. Without knowing where you should focus your attention, you have no path forward. Of course this is easier said than done.
Upon finding your passion, the next step is to enter into an apprenticeship and learn everything about your field. This is often through a mentor, but can be through various mediums and methods – the key is to gain a complete knowledge of your chosen field, which can take years.
The final phase is that of the master, but there’s much to do from here. You now have a perspective and foundation that allows you to make connections others are blind to. You often surpass your mentor and enter into a deeply creative phase during which you truly reap the benefits of your mastery.
The book goes into more detail into what mastery is, how to achieve it, and what to do when you get there.
Check out the video below for more from Robert Greene on Mastery.
Photo by jef safi
Welcome to this week’s top links!
The three types of customer feedback and how you should use them – especially the complaints.
Don’t want to hinder your creativity? Beware of these 5 deterrents that can kill the creative process.
How your body language affects how others see you, but also how you see yourself.
Increase your happiness and productivity in one easy way: help others frequently.
Working on your own can be quite the change, here’s some insightful advice from someone who’s done it.
And if you missed last week’s links, check them out here.
Bonus: check out my Flipboard Magazine ‘Always Be Curious’
