New to Pickles And Doughnuts?
The "Island of Pickles and Doughnuts" is a metaphor for a life of habit and convention. It was originally used in my book The Power of Thinking Differently. You can learn more here: Interview | Book Excerpt
Creativity in the Digital Age: Is Your Cell Phone Bad for Your Creativity?
(Courtesy of Travis Isaacs)
Some of us can’t live without them.
Even in my book I write about how I used my cellphone to record the first draft of the outline of my manuscript.
As a user of one of these high-tech gizmos, I admit that I often find myself fully engaged in trying to keep up with my emails, facebook, phone messages, tweets, and the rest. But this type of continual “multi-tasking” may be harming my creativity.
At least that’s what some researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are saying.
“You really can’t multi-task. The brain can’t multi-task,” said Joanne Cantor, the director of UW-Madison’s Center for Communication Research. read more…
Courtesy of http://ncsu.edu/iei/
How can society enhance creative thinking and embrace new ideas?
Answering this question was the primary focus of the 25th annual Emerging Issues Forum that was held in Raleigh, North Carolina this past week. Though the forum is geared towards improving the lives of those who live in North Carolina, the discussion benefits us all.
Various speakers participated in the 2-day event including U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, author Daniel Pink, and jazz singer Nnenna Freelon.
After reviewing some notes and news reports concerning the event, a few things caught my eye.
One, I noticed that I wasn’t invited. 
Two, I noticed several notable ideas on encouraging creativity and creative ideation in our society. read more…
(photo courtesy of peasap)
Are you an active participant in creating the life you want? Or do you feel as if you are at the mercy of your life; living uninspired; living just to get by?
According to self-development consultant and author Melissa Casas, we all have the ability to manifest the lives we desire.
“Most people, myself included, have very little understanding of how powerful we actually are, and I mean that quite viscerally. We carry very powerful energy around us, and that energy is powerful vibration inside of us.”
But how do we tap into that creative energy?
“We’re putting that energy into motion with every thought, and our intuition – our ability to perceive inner guidance – is telling us if we’re creating in the direction of what we really want, or creating in the direction of what we don’t really want to experience. That information, that guidance, is there for us in every moment if we know how to read it,” says Melissa.
However, Melissa has a unique view of our intuition.
While many use intuition as a decision making mechanism – do what feels right, or do what your intuition tells you to do – Melissa learned over time that this view may be a bit simplistic, and that there is an important difference between asking “what should I do” versus “what do I want to do?” read more…
