In this New York Time’s article, the impact of technology is explored and how it helps us, as much as it hurts us. In essence it looks at the problems raised from an over-reliance on technology, which is a very real problem.
Last week I wrote a piece on news, which you can read here. The center of the piece was the controversy surrounding Common’s presence at the White House. In this unedited video, we get Bill O’Reilly from Fox News going head-to-head with Jon Stewart on the Common controversy, politics, and more.
Being in the presence of greatness is one way to gain great inspiration to motivate yourself to achieve. In this piece from Zen Habits we look at how to find greatness to inspire ourselves ranging from authors to role models and more.
The following are some tips from Conan O’Brien and his creative process, done for the Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People piece. There are some intriguing tidbits on creativity and having fun, needing pressure, preparation, and more.
Its important to pay attention to our minds, just as much as we focus on our health, and one way is through meditation. The Guardian goes in detail on what meditation is and its numerous benefits.
And if you missed last week’s links, check them out here.
Kickstarter is a platform I’ve been following since its inception in 2009 and its amazing how far its come to date. The basic idea is getting funding from people who support your work, simply because they believe in what you’re doing. The foundation of Kickstarter is crowdfunding, one of four different strategies stemming form crowdsourcing. Crowdfunding is exactly what it sounds like, using the crowd to fund projects. Its an innovative model and I suggest everyone participate either through their own creative projects or a small donation to a project you find interesting.
To learn more, check out the video below on how Kickstarter Funds Creativity or visit their website.
I recently finished The Element by Sir Ken Robinson and moved onto A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink, which has been fantastic so far. But first things first, The Element was a great book that really gets you to reflect on the path you’ve taken in life so far and how to change it. Essentially the Element is where your passion meets your talent, meaning its something you not only love to do, but you’re also good at – the ultimate goal is to find this in your life.
After defining the term, the book focuses on why many of us have not found our Element yet, which includes the education system, lack of external support, and self belief.
The major aspects of the book focus on getting in the right mindset to acknowledge that you have that certain something in which you can excel and being open to finding it. There are a number of tools that can help you along this journey, such as finding your tribe or community that shares your interests, engaging a mentor that can help guide you to where you want to go, and unlocking your imagination and creativity to help in the self exploration.
Sir Ken Robinson also includes a few disclaimers on your path to finding your Element, one being that your Element does not have to be your career, it can be a balance between your career and your passion,. The primary reasoning behind this is often monetary, especially when you have a family to support. Furthermore, he also warns you that you will always encounter those that will be naysayers, those that are negative and unsupportive, which can be hurtful, but it is important to overcome such people. Finally, he makes it quite clear that its never too late to start looking for your Element, so there’s not point in not starting.
Through a number of inspiring stories and great examples, Sir Ken Robinson emphasizes the value of your Element and how we can go about reaching it. Definitely a book worth picking up, especially if you find yourself dissatisfied with your education, career, or prospects. Rating 9/10.
Influencers is a video about how certain people are able to influence trends, spark creativity, and make ideas contagious. Check out the video below by R + I Creative.
How can we cultivate more influential people in the world? There are a number of different factors that come into consideration, but one is certainly education. The school system needs to focus more on nurturing the creativity of the next generation, rather than killing it. What other ways can we develop a generation of influencers?
Amazing street artist JR (picture of work above) is awarded a $100,000 grant from TED Prize for 2011. It’s definitely not a traditional choice for what we normally see from TED, but I think its a great decision, as his work really does portray innovation and creativity at its core. You can see more of his work here.
Yet again, Seth Godin with a brilliant post about how many of us are more intrigued by media and truly mindless TV shows, opposed to the value and information gained from books, news, and more impactful content.
Awesome new game from IBM Innov8, CityOne gives you control of a city and allows you to develop it in four key areas: energy, water, banks, and retail.
A new study from Columbia Business School has shown a relation between creativity and feeling a little gloomy. I’m a bit skeptical, but its an interesting idea nonetheless.
Based on my experiences, the following are my top ways to innovate!
1. Intersect
Combining different ideas, perspectives, cultures, and basically anything and everything else is one of the best ways to innovate. If you don’t think so, read Medici Effect.
2. Observe don’t ASK
We can ask people all day what they want, what their opinions are, but the fact is, they don’t even know! As they say actions speak louder than words, so next time pay attention to what they’re doing not what they’re saying.
3. Collaborate
Working on your own can really help you solidify your own thoughts and ideas, but having that other person can really add a new element that takes you where you really wanted to go.
4. Take Notes
We have ideas all the time, in the least likely of situations, and there’s no way to remember them! Having the ability to takes notes whenever an “Aha!” moment strikes should not be underestimated.
5. Change Perspectives
Look at things from a different angle. We usually get stuck viewing things from one perspective, but think about the customer, the user, the client, different industries, etc… try and role play and the value that was not seen before, suddenly comes to the top.
