Archive for the ‘Innovative Thinking’ Category

Is It Time for You to Finally Step Up?

February 7th, 2012

Posted under Change, Featured, General, Innovative Thinking

Dr. Susan Biali, M.D. is a practicing medical doctor, wellness expert, speaker, life coach, author, and flamenco dancer. Formerly clinically depressed, Dr. Biali took back her own life and health by extensively studying how to create a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life. Dr. Biali draws from her wide range of expertise and experiences to offer hope and practical tools that improve the lives of people worldwide. She has received numerous academic and personal awards, and she is a frequent guest on various media outlets. Additionally, Dr. Biali is a Flamenco dancer who performs on international stages. Her bestselling book, Live a Life You Love: 7 Steps to a Healthier, Happier, More Passionate You, was released in March 2010.

Years ago, when I was secretly dreaming about someday becoming an author and a speaker who would (hopefully) change lives, I pulled a bestselling motivational book off the shelf at my neighborhood library.Turning it over in my hands, I discovered from the bio on the back that the author lived 20 minutes down the highway from me. I didn’t do anything about it at the time, but it seemed magical that someone like this was living that close by. Somehow, the idea itself was inspiring enough on its own.A couple of years ago, I had the experience of sharing the stage with John Izzo, the author of that book, at a local fundraiser for a project in Uganda. I could barely contain my enthusiasm when we shook hands—not only was I finally meeting him in person, but it also signified that I, now an author and speaker myself, had somehow managed to get to a place in my career where my book and his were displayed on tables side by side. Incredible! And we’ve been friends ever since.

You may be familiar with Izzo’s internationally bestselling book, The Five Secrets You Must Discover before You Die, (this wasn’t the one I pulled from the shelf that day, but it’s the one he’s best known for) as well as his popular PBS series by the same name. As I write this he’s just released his latest book, Stepping Up: How Taking Responsibility Changes Everything.

In the book, Izzo writes:

My definition of stepping up is simple: Stepping up is seeing a need and deciding YOU are the right person to do something about it. It is about not looking to anyone else to create change but to do what you can in your sphere of influence. The responsibility I speak of is not a wagging finger telling you to step up, but an empowering message of what happens when we stop worrying about what anyone else is doing and choose to do what we can do. Whether trying to change our family, our company or the world, we are only powerful when we focus on what WE can do.

I had a chance to read the book before it came out, and was so inspired by the spirit of empowerment, responsibility and hope contained within. Here are some of my favorite concepts (accompanied by my own thoughts on them) which I hope will incite you to think differently about your life today, and the power you have to make a real difference within your sphere of influence:

1) Encourage tolerance and kindness

In a world shaken by financial chaos and instability, with more and more people needing a piece of the communal pie to survive, it’s easy to fall into an “every man for himself” kind of survival mentality. Frequently, this will start to manifest itself by resenting those who are different or who have it “easier.”

I’ve caught myself a few times this month making comments that weren’t cool, which reflected my own unease about the changing circumstances around me. Have you noticed yourself doing the same?

From now on, whenever you or someone else is being intolerant or unkind—no matter how subtle or socially acceptable it might be—decide that you’ll step up and show up differently, and encourage others to do the same.

2) Lose attitudes that make you miserable and less successful

I love that a commitment to a different attitude can be a significant way of “stepping up.” This is something that anyone can do instantly. Of course, you might slip into old ways after promising yourself not to, messing up is a normal part of the process of positive change. When you’ve really committed yourself to change you’ll feel how unappealing your old way is, especially if you fall back into it, and you’ll be far less likely to repeat the old habit the next time.

In the book, Izzo focuses on two of the most troubling attitudes: “It’s not my job!” and “It’s not my fault!”

In a blog post he wrote on the topic, he noted:

How many times in an average week will you hear someone utter these sentiments: It’s not my job! It was not my fault. What can I do about it? It is bigger than me. I wish someone would do something about that.

My belief is that the more a person or organization focuses on the external environment rather than how they respond to it-the less happy and successful they will be.

In the section of the book devoted to this issue, he further states that “There are two kinds of people in the world, those who make things happen and those who complain about what’s happening.”

Ouch. Which one are you?

If you don’t like the answer, it’s very easy to change which one you are.

3) The Responsibility Ripple

Many of us feel disempowered in our work and our lives, because we don’t think that we do matters. It does.

In another excerpt from the book, Izzo writes:

Human behavior is contagious, good and bad. All of us have had the experience of entering a break room at work when one person starts complaining about how bad things are around here and before you know it everyone has joined in the whining feast. We have also had the opposite experience, that when a few people start talking about how we can fix things instead of how broken things are, suddenly the energy shifts. Responsibility is contagious. I call this the Responsibility Ripple. When someone steps up to change things, others step up and find courage they had not previously found.

Though I’m far from perfect, I decided years ago to stay away from whine fests. When I’m in a work or social environment, I deliberately avoid the people who engage in this, especially if they’ve demonstrated on previous occasions that they refuse to talk about, or listen to, a more positive spin on things.

How might you be able to infect those around you with a healthier, happier spirit? If you’re stuck in a plane on a runway for hours, that’s a perfect time to practice.

Comments Off

Thought for Food: How to Scientifically Think Yourself Thin

January 23rd, 2012

Posted under Change, Featured, General, Innovative Thinking

Guest blog from Piers Steel

Dr. Piers Steel is one of the world’s foremost researchers and speakers on the science of motivation and procrastination. Although he has researched human potential and performance from a variety of perspectives, Steel’s primary focus has continued to be on the subject of procrastination. His research and discoveries were published in his bestselling book, The Procrastination Equation, and he has appeared in countless media outlets around the world, including Psychology Today, New Scientist, Good Housekeeping and The New Yorker. Presently, Steel is setting up a behavioural lab at the University of Calgary to conduct cutting-edge procrastination research and partnering with the Seaman Family Centre to carry out neurobiological studies on why people put off despite expecting to be worse off.

So how is your diet going? Chances are you are on one or that there is a diet in your future. The majority of Americans think about dieting all year round, with as many as 41 percent on a diet at any given time, in an attempt to lose an average of thirty-seven pounds. Britons aren’t far behind: about a third are constantly on a diet. The statistics for the rest of Europe, even France, are similar. We all seem to have a few pounds or kilograms to lose and have trouble doing it.

Let me see if I can peak your interest in a helpful idea. Right now, we all know what we need to do to shed the weight: eat less and exercise more. No mystery here. The problem, then, isn’t with our knowledge but our ability to put this knowledge into action. We try to eat less, to get to the gym, but we can’t find the motivation to follow through. Resigning ourselves to our predicament, we end up looking for the easy but probably ineffective, like the fad diets from dubious Internet advertisements. This makes it a mental issue, not a physical one, and since the source of our problems are in our minds, so will be the solution.

Everything is created twice, first mentally and then physically. First comes belief and then comes action. However, if the belief isn’t nurtured, and more importantly, shaped in a very particular fashion, the actions won’t follow. There are two mental tricks that you need to master. These techniques require precision. Get the details wrong, and they will backfire and actually work against you.

The mind’s imagination can play two roles. One is a call to action, to change belief into reality. The other is fantasy, to allow us to gain satisfaction and enjoyment from afar by simply imagining what it would be like. The first helps with getting stuff done. The second replaces getting stuff done. We will need to use both in our efforts to lose weight.

The first method, the call to action, I’ve written about before in “The Motivational Wisdom of Lady Gaga versus The Secret.” To acquire the motivation to act, you mentally contrast where you are right now after first imagining where you want to be. Note the order of that, first you fantasize about being the ideal weight and then you reflect on the weight you are now. Here’s a walkthrough from my book The Procrastination Equation:

Mentally capture that feeling of vigor that will infuse your body and all the activities you’ll engage in with friends and family, once you’re in shape. As a parent, for example, it might be playing with your kids again. Now contrast that with where you are now. You are tired and rubbery, spending far too much time in front of the TV. Doesn’t feel good, does it? But it does make you want to do something about it.

So first you think about the positives and how virtuous you are going to feel from working out, how slender and enviable you are going to look by eating smaller portions and exercising more. Then you will contrast that feeling with the guilt and frustration you feel by doing nothing. Do just the positive fantasizing and often that’s all what you end up doing.

The second method is from a recent Science article by Morewedge, Huh, and Vosgerau, titled “Thought for food: Imagine consumption reduces actual consumption.” In a productive way, they exploit the fact that fantasy can take the place of action. Instead of having people fantasize about having lost weight, which would ultimately hurt their dieting efforts, they had them vividly imagine themselves eating a bowl of chocolate M&M’s, thirty of them to be precise. As per their title, imagining consuming a treat can take the place of the treat itself. Those who took the time to fantasize about a chocolate indulgence actually ate fewer M&M’s when a real bowl was presented to them. The trick here is to pay attention to the degree of fantasy. You didn’t get the effect when people imagined eating only three M&Ms; it wasn’t enough to satiate. You had to imagine all thirty of them.

So the next time you have a main course to order, imagine how great you will feel by choosing the healthy option. Then follow that up with reflecting on how lousy you will feel if you went with the high-fat status quo. And for dessert, imagine eating it, mouthful by mouthful, taking the time to visualize each bite. For a cheesecake or an ice cream parfait, that’s 15 to 20 loving spoonfuls. With the right degree of fantasy, you are on your way to be at the weight you always wanted for yourself.

Comments Off

Superpowers and Kryptonite

January 17th, 2012

Posted under General, Innovative Thinking

Guest blog from Josh Linkner

Josh Linkner has led a revolution by dislodging the old guard and dominating the technology industry through disruptive innovation and creativity. Josh is the CEO and Managing Partner of Detroit Venture Partners. Together with business partners Earvin “Magic” Johnson and NBA team owner Dan Gilbert, Josh is actively rebuilding urban areas through technology and entrepreneurship. In 2011, Josh was honoured as a President Barack Obama Champion of Change award recipient. Linkner is a highly sought-after keynote speaker, a frequent media commentator and the author of Leaning Forward and Disciplined Dreaming.

Aquaman has the unique ability to control and communicate with sea creatures. Invisible Woman can – you guessed it – become invisible at will. In fact, each of the superheroes we grew up with and admire have one or more superpowers.

Turns out that most highly successful people – both mythical and real – have their own secret weapon. From Zeus to Warren Buffett, Serena Williams to Mark Zuckerberg, Oprah to Derek Jeeter, each has their own secret sauce. It’s a unique gift that makes them powerful, compelling, and remarkable.

Good news – you have your own superpower too. It may be the ability to show empathy and patience. You might be a math whiz. Maybe you are terrific at communicating complex ideas. Perhaps you remember everything you read.

You can’t be great at everything, but you’re probably world-class at something. It could be an obvious superpower such as being an outstanding negotiator. Or it could be subtler such as a dry sense of humor or a vivid imagination.

The even better news is that to be incredibly successful you don’t need to be a master of all things. The top superheroes may have x-ray vision or time-travel, but none have all the superpowers. True heroes play to their strengths. The spend a disproportionate amount of time being the absolute best at a small number of things rather than trying to master every skill.

And then there’s Kryptonite, Superman’s Achilles heel. Turns out we each have one or two of our own soft spots. You may stink at long-division, lack computer skills, or hate writing. You may have a particular relationship that makes your knees wobble and strips you of your power. Perhaps your weakness is junk food, alcohol, or gambling.

Unfortunately, most of us play it backwards. We focus far too much energy on our kryptonite, wallowing in shame and self-pity. We let fear and doubt consume us, which limits our potential. Meanwhile, our superpowers – the gifts that make us truly special – take a backseat and don’t get fully developed and cherished.

Can you imagine Superman hunched over at the local saloon, unwilling to leap tall buildings because he’s bummed out over his one weakness? Instead, he’s identified his shortcoming and doesn’t let it hold him back. He’s learned to accept and avoid kryptonite so he can get on with saving the world.

Let’s start focusing on our strengths and stop obsessing over our weaknesses. Developing your superpower is your most important step on your journey to success. Don’t let your nemesis get in the way of reaching your true potential. Each of us has incredible things to accomplish and a gigantic impact to leave on the world. Now is the time to seize that opportunity.

To infinity and beyond….

Comments Off

Ten Great Words You Need for 2012!

December 22nd, 2011

Posted under Innovative Thinking

Jim Carroll is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading global futurists, trends and innovation experts with a massive global blue chip client list. He helps transform growth-oriented organizations into high-velocity innovation heroes! Jim has developed a global reputation for his unique presentations, and the impact they can have in helping organizations confront future trends.

A few years ago, right around the approach of the New Year, I wrote a blog post that I called ‘10 Great Words.”

Since that time, this inspirational post has become one of the most heavily tracked pages on my Web site; it also happens to provide the structure for the closing of most of my keynotes on stage.

In a few other years, I’ve updated the concept with other lists of inspirational words, and the meaning behind them. It’s always been a good way for me to clarify to my readers, and to my audiences while on stage, what they should be thinking about if they truly want to embrace the future and be an innovator.

With that in mind, I’ve been thinking about the words that might inspire people as they go forward into 2012. I’ve obsessed over this for quite some weeks now. I just haven’t been able to hit the right note.

And then while at the gym yesterday, and right after an interview for a newspaper in Sarajevo, the words for 2012 hit me like a torrent. Here’s what I think you should be thinking about as we go into a new year :

optimism: 2012 promises to be a year of volatility – economic, political, social. I suspect it will be easy to lose sight of the future and maintain the focus that you really need to innovate and stay ahead of volatility. To do that, you need the right mindset — you need to be eternally optimistic! I am – I think that’s why I thrive in what I do. So make this your first step for 2012 — be grounded in optimism!

perceive: make sure you understand the trends that surround you and what they might mean, and how they can build your optimism. Take the time to perceive where we might be going in the future in terms of your career, industry, company or skill set, and think about what it means.

opportunity: to be optimistic with future trends, you must have a sense of how these trends will define your opportunity — the third key word. The world is full of opportunity — if you choose to find it.

attitude: add those three thoughts together, and you get to the fourth key word. Your success in 2012 will really come from the attitude that will carry you forward. Remember, some people see the future and are filled with fear. Others see the same future, and see nothing but hope!

focus: of course, to maintain your optimism, you need to filter out the noise. You will be continually slammed by raging headlines related to the economy and all the other things that might go wrong. Stay focused – don’t lose track of your optimism; don’t let noise cloud the opportunities; don’t let volatility reshape your attitude!

passion: do these things, and you are well set for the future. If this is the case, then you need to make sure that you develop a huge amount of passion for the opportunities that you see, and the activities and actions you intend to pursue.

embrace: so you are in the right frame of mind, see the opportunity, and are filtering out the noise, and are excited about the future. Great — now you can embrace the opportunities for innovation and the future trends that surround you. Establish a goal, set a plan, and make sure you embrace this plan!

experience: this means that as you begin to focus on innovation, you’ve got to make sure that you experience a lot of things that you haven’t tried to do before. That means that you must build up a lot of experience in areas where you lack previous involvement. Experience is a great word — the more you build up, the better you are positioned for the future. I call it experiential capital – explore that concept throughout this Web site.

rebound: of course, if you are going to try to do some things you haven’t done before, you are bound to fail at a few of them. That’s where the word rebound comes in — pick yourself up, don’t focus on the failure, and try again!

thrill. In my original 10 words, I closed off with the word “enjoy.” On stage, it’s often my last comment, as in “if you follow these 9 words, you get to the 10th most important of all, and that’s enjoy!” And that’s why for 2012, I still think the same thing holds true — if you adopt these 9 words, you’ll get to the 10th most important word of all — you’ll enjoy the thrill, as I do, of embracing the future and being innovative.

Remember – some people see a trend and see a threat. Other seem the same trend and see nothing but opportunity.

We’ll see you throughout 2012!

No Comments »

Beauty is a Virtue that could end war

November 22nd, 2011

Posted under General, Innovative Thinking

Guest blog from Barb Stegemann

It’s been referred to as “An unlikely weapon in the war”….a joyous fragrance at the beauty counter made from organic essential oils that help farmers in Afghanistan to get off of the illegal poppy crop that accounts for 90% of the world’s heroin supply. When I launched The 7 Virtues fragrance line out of my garage on my visa card because no bank would give me a loan, there were a few raised eyebrows. When I hit my break-even analysis in the first four weeks I knew we were on to something. The laughing subsided. The bank took notice.

We don’t have skinny models. We don’t have famous movie stars. We prefer to pay our supplier above market value so the farmers see the value in growing these legal crops. We have been known to outsell Chanel.

Our essential oils travel on the most dangerous highway in the world from Jalalabad to Kabul in order to reach us in Canada. I order in half of the oils at a time in case they don’t make it. There is always the possibility that the bombs on that highway could cut off our supply. I cold call like a woman possessed getting our fragrance out to market so I can buy more oils from my supplier, a wise and good man, Abdullah Arsala who dreams of liberation for women in his country. Abdullah has a vision, to produce half the world’s rose oil supply and get his tribe and all of the farmers off of the illegal poppy crop. He employs women and men. I have jumped on board his vision. We have 2,500 farmers counting on us.

We launched at the West block of Parliament last year on International Women’s Day. We had the Ambassador for Afghanistan to Canada’s wife take the stage and share her story with the female senators, MPs, and guests. In a very short amount of time, we landed our fragrance collection at the beauty counter at the oldest department store in North America, The Bay. When I met with Macy’s in New York, I had 2,500 Muslim farmers praying for me. That’s beauty.

I am half Jewish. I am a woman. I am an Honorary Colonel. The fanatics can hush down now. Our collective job is to be louder than the fanatics. Anyone can destroy and grab a headline. It takes courage to rebuild. Our job is to make rebuilding more exciting than destruction. We have our work cut out for us.

Beauty is a virtue. I know it can end war. Michelangelo, one of the greatest artists and philosophers of all time taught that beauty is ‘expression over form’. That expression is your power and your dignity. Never hand it over and never strip another of theirs. It’s a simple principle that takes daily practice. Like a muscle, the more you practice it the stronger our skill becomes.

Heroin goes against all laws. It goes against Islamic law to grow the illegal poppy crop. Our purchases of the oils from legal crops of orange blossom and rose petals help farmers buy books and shoes for their children. It also gives them their dignity so they do not have to compromise their faith. We were not raised in the same faith. However, virtues that give dignity and power to another are universal. Virtues know no religious boundaries. They are for all of humanity. Giving farmers in Afghanistan their dignity is key to building peace.

Imagine if our mothers taught us that our beauty came from our power and our dignity and not our physical form. Imagine if they taught us to never, ever hand our power and our dignity (beauty) over to another.

Imagine a world where young girls and all women (and men) fully understand that their power and dignity is their true beauty. More Women would run for office. More women would launch companies fearlessly. More women would have a voice at the decision-making tables. More women would be in roles of leadership in the military. More women would say, “I will not stay locked in my home, I will learn to read if I so desire. I deserve to go to the doctor. I deserve to live beyond 40 years of age.” (The average woman in Afghanistan’s life expectancy is 40 years young). Women, if given the chance to work in Afghanistan will reinvest 90% of their incomes into their families. It’s in our best interests to give all women their dignity and power, their true beauty at home and in our global village.

This weekend I presented our work at the Halifax International Security Forum. I met with Ministers of Defence from around the world. I met with world leaders who are in government from Yemen, Israel, Palestine, Afghanistan, Europe, North America and beyond.

And even if we don’t agree, we will ensure that we maintain one another’s dignity and power. Beauty is a virtue that could end war.

Comments Off