I was fortunate enough to be able to recently interview Michael Michalko. Michael is a creativity expert, focusing on how to come up with creative ideas. He is the author of numerous books including my favorite, ThinkerToys.
Michael shares his background on how he became so engaged in creative thinking, his thoughts and ideas on the subject, and practical tips and information on how to come up with creative ideas yourself.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Toni Newman - Professional Catalyst
Toni Newman was another one of the great, smart, incredible people that I met in New York earlier this year.
Toni is crazy, brilliant, and incredibly innovative in everything she does, from her presentation style of her speeches to her website and business cards.
I wanted to pick the professional catalyst's brain on innovation, not only for your business or job, but also how you could be innovative in your personal life. Toni's interview is thought provoking.
Toni is crazy, brilliant, and incredibly innovative in everything she does, from her presentation style of her speeches to her website and business cards.
I wanted to pick the professional catalyst's brain on innovation, not only for your business or job, but also how you could be innovative in your personal life. Toni's interview is thought provoking.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Head First
I have a confession; I jump into nearly everything head first, and I'm not talking about swimming pools.
I've held a belief that has worked well for me, "If something is worth doing at all, it's worth doing well."
This belief was strengthened after reading Jim Collins "Good to Great" at the age of 17. A book that showed me how to do take yourself and your business to the next level.
For this reason, I go all out when doing anything. If I'm doing a seminar, I'm inviting the media, putting out press releases, and calling on local authorities to attend. That seminar is nothing but the best, at the best location.
It took me a while to develop this "going in head first" attitude. It all started after I realized that something is better than nothing at all.
Most people do nothing. They come up with great ideas, but are afraid to implement them. They develop amazing leadership skills, but won't lead. Most people won't take the first step.
Take the first step.
The first step is often the hardest, but it's required to build momentum in any direction. Go in with the attitude that this first step weather a success or a lesson learned, is still a step in the right direction, and still better than the "nothing" that everyone else is doing.
Once you've taken the first step, you'll quickly realize that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. You'll have gone in head first.
I've held a belief that has worked well for me, "If something is worth doing at all, it's worth doing well."
This belief was strengthened after reading Jim Collins "Good to Great" at the age of 17. A book that showed me how to do take yourself and your business to the next level.
For this reason, I go all out when doing anything. If I'm doing a seminar, I'm inviting the media, putting out press releases, and calling on local authorities to attend. That seminar is nothing but the best, at the best location.
It took me a while to develop this "going in head first" attitude. It all started after I realized that something is better than nothing at all.
Most people do nothing. They come up with great ideas, but are afraid to implement them. They develop amazing leadership skills, but won't lead. Most people won't take the first step.
Take the first step.
The first step is often the hardest, but it's required to build momentum in any direction. Go in with the attitude that this first step weather a success or a lesson learned, is still a step in the right direction, and still better than the "nothing" that everyone else is doing.
Once you've taken the first step, you'll quickly realize that if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. You'll have gone in head first.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Be The Change
Mahatma Ghandi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."
Today, many people are complaining about the economy, fuel prices, and the election, yet few people offer solutions to the problem.
Take Ghandi's advice to heart, and rather than complain, be that change. The world will be a better place when you do.
Today, many people are complaining about the economy, fuel prices, and the election, yet few people offer solutions to the problem.
Take Ghandi's advice to heart, and rather than complain, be that change. The world will be a better place when you do.
Monday, September 29, 2008
I'm Not Surprised...
Yes, we're going through a financial crisis, but I'm not surprised.
If you the history of recessions in the United States, you wouldn't be either.
According to Recession.org, there have been 16 recessions in the United States since 1907, and this excludes the "Dot Com Bubble" burst in 2001. In other words, every 5.94 years, if we allow history to repeat itself, you should expect a recession.
With the last recession happening after September 11 of 2001, we're right on target for this to hit now.
The markets are cyclical, wealth redistributes itself, and people become more innovative every time.
It's no time to panic. You know the old saying 'Think outside the box?' It's time to start living outside the box. Those who can stay creative in these times will prosper when things return normal.
Oh yeah, remember you're trying to live outside the box, not under it.
If you the history of recessions in the United States, you wouldn't be either.
According to Recession.org, there have been 16 recessions in the United States since 1907, and this excludes the "Dot Com Bubble" burst in 2001. In other words, every 5.94 years, if we allow history to repeat itself, you should expect a recession.
With the last recession happening after September 11 of 2001, we're right on target for this to hit now.
The markets are cyclical, wealth redistributes itself, and people become more innovative every time.
It's no time to panic. You know the old saying 'Think outside the box?' It's time to start living outside the box. Those who can stay creative in these times will prosper when things return normal.
Oh yeah, remember you're trying to live outside the box, not under it.
Embrace Desperation
I've written a very interesting article on embracing these desperate times for a magazine, Carolina Blueprint. I wanted to share it with you:
Innovation, creativity, and positive change are always just around the corner, and many people are being forced to find them in order to stay in business.
The markets are currently and increasingly difficult, the credit crunch is hampering everyone’s ability for expansion, and the few dollars people do have, they want to keep for themselves. We really are in a “sink or swim” situation.
What a great way to start a motivational article, right? When you realize that 98% of change is created through one of two ways, you’ll agree.
Most of us, myself included, only change for one of two reasons; inspiration or desperation. The problem I’ve found is that most business owners aren’t very inspired after the initial inspiration that started their business in the first place. What’s wrong with a lack of inspiration? It creates a stagnant market that can’t adapt or innovate quickly enough when its foundation shifts.
When things break, it always is a big deal. Think about it.
Companies are considered successful when the break away from the competition. It’s always great news to hear that you’ve broken into a new market or broke the previous sales record. When you watch the news you hear about people breaking out of jail, or breaking into cars and houses. Last time you went to a conference you probably went to a break out session, and when you were younger, I’m sure you had more than one break up with someone else.
Not only are all of the above examples similar in the fact that things broke, their all things that happen frequently, and are all things that are fixed, mended, or repaired by individuals much less intelligent and innovative than you.
The credit markets are currently askew and the housing market is slow. It would be fair to say that their temporarily broken. The government is working on everything within their power to bring things back to normal, as nothing is beyond repair.
This still doesn’t change the fact that we’re trying to change out of desperation. Desperate for change or not, the fact that we’re acting is the key towards our continued success in the market.
The problem that happens with most individuals is that when acting out of desperation, we easily get frustrated, give up, and let our circumstances get the best of us.
Stop fighting it, and learn to embrace it. The changes we make, the things we create, and ideas that allow us to innovate today, is what will ultimately shape not only our business, but our industry in tomorrow.
Learning to not only create a change in the marketplace, but embrace it is no easy task. There’s one tip that I use frequently that creates almost instantaneous change in the way we behave.
Create a “Stop Doing List”.
Most of us have a “To Do” list, yet I’m willing to be that most of the things we are actually doing, aren’t on it. By creating a “Stop Doing List” you instead list the things that are counterproductive, destructive, and ultimately detrimental to your business.
In addition to creating a stop doing list, I suggest doing two other things within the next 24 hours:
1. Go purchase the book “Thinker Toys” by Michael Michalko – This book teaches you how to have more “Aha!” moments.
2. Write down weather you’re acting out of inspiration or desperation, and why. Is it a lack of funds, poor clientele, or maybe even growth that is too rapid? In order to know where we must go, we must first know where, or in this case what, we’re trying to get away from.
Innovation, creativity, and positive change are always just around the corner, and many people are being forced to find them in order to stay in business.
The markets are currently and increasingly difficult, the credit crunch is hampering everyone’s ability for expansion, and the few dollars people do have, they want to keep for themselves. We really are in a “sink or swim” situation.
What a great way to start a motivational article, right? When you realize that 98% of change is created through one of two ways, you’ll agree.
Most of us, myself included, only change for one of two reasons; inspiration or desperation. The problem I’ve found is that most business owners aren’t very inspired after the initial inspiration that started their business in the first place. What’s wrong with a lack of inspiration? It creates a stagnant market that can’t adapt or innovate quickly enough when its foundation shifts.
When things break, it always is a big deal. Think about it.
Companies are considered successful when the break away from the competition. It’s always great news to hear that you’ve broken into a new market or broke the previous sales record. When you watch the news you hear about people breaking out of jail, or breaking into cars and houses. Last time you went to a conference you probably went to a break out session, and when you were younger, I’m sure you had more than one break up with someone else.
Not only are all of the above examples similar in the fact that things broke, their all things that happen frequently, and are all things that are fixed, mended, or repaired by individuals much less intelligent and innovative than you.
The credit markets are currently askew and the housing market is slow. It would be fair to say that their temporarily broken. The government is working on everything within their power to bring things back to normal, as nothing is beyond repair.
This still doesn’t change the fact that we’re trying to change out of desperation. Desperate for change or not, the fact that we’re acting is the key towards our continued success in the market.
The problem that happens with most individuals is that when acting out of desperation, we easily get frustrated, give up, and let our circumstances get the best of us.
Stop fighting it, and learn to embrace it. The changes we make, the things we create, and ideas that allow us to innovate today, is what will ultimately shape not only our business, but our industry in tomorrow.
Learning to not only create a change in the marketplace, but embrace it is no easy task. There’s one tip that I use frequently that creates almost instantaneous change in the way we behave.
Create a “Stop Doing List”.
Most of us have a “To Do” list, yet I’m willing to be that most of the things we are actually doing, aren’t on it. By creating a “Stop Doing List” you instead list the things that are counterproductive, destructive, and ultimately detrimental to your business.
In addition to creating a stop doing list, I suggest doing two other things within the next 24 hours:
1. Go purchase the book “Thinker Toys” by Michael Michalko – This book teaches you how to have more “Aha!” moments.
2. Write down weather you’re acting out of inspiration or desperation, and why. Is it a lack of funds, poor clientele, or maybe even growth that is too rapid? In order to know where we must go, we must first know where, or in this case what, we’re trying to get away from.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
I was stuck...
I was stuck for nearly 12 hours this weekend... and it wasn't at the airport.
Charlotte, North Carolina is having a fuel shortage, and I happened to be caught by it.
It was slightly before 5am and as I pull into the parking lot of a major gas station, my car sputters out, dies, and I coast into a parking spot. I didn't expect to be there for almost 12 hours.
When I spoke with people at the gas station, they told me that they expected a shipment of fuel to come in the previous night and it never showed up, "It should be here any minute..."
That didn't happen.
This was an interesting experience to watch other people.
Many people were very calm, sleeping in there cars pulled up next to a pump and waiting for gas to show up. Others were driving in with over half a tank, looking to top their tank off, and panicking because their was no fuel. One lady even started crying because she had to drive 18 miles home, and only had half a tank... I was shocked.
When the fuel truck did show up, at 4pm, 22 hours late, everyone at the gas station was ecstatic. They quickly blocked off every entrance and exit to the station, as to allow the people currently in the station to fill up, and formed a one way in, one way out entrance and exit. Only 16 cars were allowed in the station at once, and if only wanted coffee, you still went to the end of the almost 1 mile long line.
I watched people move barricades, drive over curbs and cones, and even almost run over an employee to try to force their way in. The staff handled themselves incredibly well, reasoning with all the reasonable people, and kicking out all the idiots. Good for them.
Overall, roughly 95% of the people that waited in line were very happy that things were as organized as they were. People bragged about the staff, boasted about the organization, and were thankful for kicking out the jerks.
I saw a number of employees who will, should they desire, go on to become much more than a parking attendant or gas station clerk. They handled themselves incredibly well, dealt with increasing difficult situations, were thorough in their precedure, and much more.
I am however scared. I saw our nations dependency of oil firsthand, and saw what would happen should our supply become further disrupted. It fears were strengthened when I started to do the math about the amount of carbon dioxide that this one gas station alone was producing.
After numerous fuel trucks showed up, they said they had 27,000 gallons of fuel in there tanks. That's a lot. Some quick math makes it even more scary.
One gallon of gasoline weighs 6 pounds. So this station had 162,000 pounds of fuel in their tanks. When burned, this amounts to roughly 486,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (for more information click here).
I know, a weird post for a blog on success right? I disagree.
Successful people don't necessarily have to have a lot of money, power or fame. In fact, they need none of the above. Success in this case was measured by how well these no-doubt under trained employees handled themselves in these situations. They were a success weather they knew it or not, and everyone wanting fuel, all several hundred people in line, depended these employees to successfully get home, to work, or anywhere else they were going.
Plus, this exposed a huge concern for the environment. I had never before realized just how much fuel is used, as its something you never see. It goes through that black hose, into a whole you don't see. All you do is watch that little needle move around, and go get more.
When I began to think about the amount of CO2 that we product on a daily basis, I was scared for the environment. I took this fear and began to think about how ti could be translated into success. How could I change this?
Using less fuel could be an option, buying a car that gets better gas mileage, or better yet doesn't use any, like Elon Musk's Tesla Car.
Could I change this at my house? Absolutely. The price of solar electricity is declining increasing quickly as scientists are figuring out how to make solar power less expensive and simultaneously more powerful. The government has billions of dollars in grants to help fund this, as do most cities and states. Visit www.dsireusa.org for more information on these programs.
So what do I plan on doing? I'm putting together a plan for a concept solar electric power plant. One on a much smaller scale than what you would normally hear about.
Those seeking financial success need to look into the needs of the environment, learn to embrace change, and build a business focused on servicing others first, and let the financial return come on it's own, as it well. In others, turn green technology into green cash.
Charlotte, North Carolina is having a fuel shortage, and I happened to be caught by it.
It was slightly before 5am and as I pull into the parking lot of a major gas station, my car sputters out, dies, and I coast into a parking spot. I didn't expect to be there for almost 12 hours.
When I spoke with people at the gas station, they told me that they expected a shipment of fuel to come in the previous night and it never showed up, "It should be here any minute..."
That didn't happen.
This was an interesting experience to watch other people.
Many people were very calm, sleeping in there cars pulled up next to a pump and waiting for gas to show up. Others were driving in with over half a tank, looking to top their tank off, and panicking because their was no fuel. One lady even started crying because she had to drive 18 miles home, and only had half a tank... I was shocked.
When the fuel truck did show up, at 4pm, 22 hours late, everyone at the gas station was ecstatic. They quickly blocked off every entrance and exit to the station, as to allow the people currently in the station to fill up, and formed a one way in, one way out entrance and exit. Only 16 cars were allowed in the station at once, and if only wanted coffee, you still went to the end of the almost 1 mile long line.
I watched people move barricades, drive over curbs and cones, and even almost run over an employee to try to force their way in. The staff handled themselves incredibly well, reasoning with all the reasonable people, and kicking out all the idiots. Good for them.
Overall, roughly 95% of the people that waited in line were very happy that things were as organized as they were. People bragged about the staff, boasted about the organization, and were thankful for kicking out the jerks.
I saw a number of employees who will, should they desire, go on to become much more than a parking attendant or gas station clerk. They handled themselves incredibly well, dealt with increasing difficult situations, were thorough in their precedure, and much more.
I am however scared. I saw our nations dependency of oil firsthand, and saw what would happen should our supply become further disrupted. It fears were strengthened when I started to do the math about the amount of carbon dioxide that this one gas station alone was producing.
After numerous fuel trucks showed up, they said they had 27,000 gallons of fuel in there tanks. That's a lot. Some quick math makes it even more scary.
One gallon of gasoline weighs 6 pounds. So this station had 162,000 pounds of fuel in their tanks. When burned, this amounts to roughly 486,000 pounds of carbon dioxide (for more information click here).
I know, a weird post for a blog on success right? I disagree.
Successful people don't necessarily have to have a lot of money, power or fame. In fact, they need none of the above. Success in this case was measured by how well these no-doubt under trained employees handled themselves in these situations. They were a success weather they knew it or not, and everyone wanting fuel, all several hundred people in line, depended these employees to successfully get home, to work, or anywhere else they were going.
Plus, this exposed a huge concern for the environment. I had never before realized just how much fuel is used, as its something you never see. It goes through that black hose, into a whole you don't see. All you do is watch that little needle move around, and go get more.
When I began to think about the amount of CO2 that we product on a daily basis, I was scared for the environment. I took this fear and began to think about how ti could be translated into success. How could I change this?
Using less fuel could be an option, buying a car that gets better gas mileage, or better yet doesn't use any, like Elon Musk's Tesla Car.
Could I change this at my house? Absolutely. The price of solar electricity is declining increasing quickly as scientists are figuring out how to make solar power less expensive and simultaneously more powerful. The government has billions of dollars in grants to help fund this, as do most cities and states. Visit www.dsireusa.org for more information on these programs.
So what do I plan on doing? I'm putting together a plan for a concept solar electric power plant. One on a much smaller scale than what you would normally hear about.
Those seeking financial success need to look into the needs of the environment, learn to embrace change, and build a business focused on servicing others first, and let the financial return come on it's own, as it well. In others, turn green technology into green cash.
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