Insights for a Perfect Brainstorm

"Creative thinking is not a talent, it is a skill that can be learnt. It empowers people by adding strength to their natural abilities which improves teamwork, productivity and where appropriate profits!" - Edward de Bono

Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which a group tries to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members. A brainstorm session often is a good way to find possible solutions to solve an urgent problem, think of new products/services/brand names/business models, a new go-to-market-strategy, etc. Often the brainstorming is done in free format, using a set methodology, tools and/or with a facilitator. There are lots of ways to brainstorm, and lots of tools to help you, including brainstorming software programs, useful mobile apps and handy mind-mapping tools. However, in most cases brainstorming as a tool can be used much more effective....

"To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires a creative imagination and marks the real advances in science." - Albert Einstein

Over the years researchers and creativity experts have made modifications or proposed variations of brainstorming in an attempt to improve the productivity of brainstorming. The best brainstorming insights I recently came across have been developed by Dutch innovator Gijs van Wulfen, who's the founder of the FORTH Innovation Methodology. His brainstorming advice and views are as follows: 

Every one of us has experienced failed brainstorms. Because 300 ideas hung on a wall and nobody knew how to go on. Or one of your vice-presidents disapproved of every idea so after a short while everybody kept his mouth shut. Or because at the end of a long day at the office you could only recycle old ideas and there was nothing new under the sun. But do not get discouraged. The perfect brainstorm exists. I have experienced several in practice. And was in the position of facilitating some of them.

So, what finally gives that 'WOW feeling'? I’ve discovered that this simple question cannot be easily answered. I do not think there is one dominant success factor. It is much more the right interplay of many small factors. It is all in the details I experience. Perhaps the metaphor of a puzzle is most striking. There are many small pieces needed, and if you lose one, the puzzle is worthless. In my practice as facilitator I have found twenty-five pieces contributing to the perfect brainstorm, which I like to share with you.

Highly Relevant 

1. Define a relevant subject, which is a challenge for the organisation and the people you invite.
2. Create with the sponsor a concrete and s.m.a.r.t. brainstorm or innovation assignment.
3. Create momentum for the brainstorm. Something important must happen now!

Diverse Group of Participants 

4. Invite people for whom the assignment is personally relevant. 
5. Invite both people for content as for decision-making reasons.

6. Invite also a couple of outsiders as outside-the-box thinkers.
7. Get a good mix between men and women, young & old, etc.
8. Let the internal top problem-owner (vice-president) participate.
Special Setting
9. Look for a peaceful and special environment (special place, special music, special food, etc).
10. Create an (emotional) safe environment where you can be yourself.
11. Do not allow ringing and flashing iPhones and Blackberry’s.
12. Never, I really mean never, brainstorm at the office.
Effectively Structured Process
13. Take at least two days for an effective brainstorm for concrete new concepts.
14. Spend twice as much time on the convergence process as on the divergence process.
15. Plan and prepare an effective combination of idea generation techniques.
16. Be open to suggestions from the group to adapt the process. Do not always try to stick to the programme you have set.
17. Make sure it is enjoyable. Fun promotes good results.
18. Time box. Make sure everybody knows what the time limits are for the different assignments. And stick to the time.
19. Hire visualisers or cartoonist to visualise the results
20. Keep the pace going; otherwise it becomes long-winded and boring.
Facilitated by a Professional
21. Hire an (internal) expert facilitator, hardly noticeable, with light controls.
22. Gives the opposite energy to the group. If the group is too active: be calm. If the group is too calm: be more energetic.
23. Don’t lose sight of sub groups, constantly check how they progress.
Concrete Output
24. Make the output very concrete and clear to anybody. Also to those who did not participate.
25. Creating the new concepts with your own colleagues generates maximum internal support.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating of course. Try to deploy the 25 rules, and you will notice that the participants will share the WOW-feeling and support the outcome. So when you organise or lead a brainstorm, check out if you’ve complete the puzzle.

Do you need to make an extra effort to 'sell' the importance of Idea Management and brainstorming within your organisation? Than I'd advise you to read the article 'How to Communicate the Value of Idea Management' for some useful insights and tips.

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world!" - Joel Arthur Barker

Creative regards & success,

Patrick Driessen

50 Compelling Brain Facts

"The brain gives the heart its sight. The heart gives the brain its vision." - Kall

By Patrick Driessen
Achieving success in something often depends - to a large degree - on how smart and fast you use your brain power! Thus understanding, training, expanding and nurturing your brain capacity might help you to succeed more often.

Over the last week I did a little ‘brain test’: I asked 10 adult friends and 10 children (10-16 yrs) to tell me everything they knew about their brain. Funny enough most of them really struggled trying to answer my ‘simple’ question. Most of the answers I got were quite general and could be qualified as ‘no-brainers’... My test audience admitted that they were lacking in-depth knowledge and facts about our brain.

To help all of us to increase our knowledge and understanding of our brain, please find below 50 compelling and proven facts about our mysterious brain:

1. You btteer bleivee it your biarn is clever, jsut try and see if you can raed tihs, most likely you can. Tihs is bcuseae the mind deos not raed all lteters, only the word as a wlhoe aoccdring to rscheearch at Cmabridge Uinvresity. – Great isn’t it? According to the research, as long as the first and the last letter of a word are in the right place, it doesn’t matter if the rest of them are jumbled up: most people will still be able to read and understand the text.
2. One human brain generates more electrical impulses in a single day than all the world's telephones put together. Every thought and pattern of light, sound, movement, smell and sensation is converted into a sequence of electric pulses, which is received and translated by your brain.
3. Your brain needs a continuous supply of oxygen. A 10 minute loss of oxygen will usually cause significant neural damage. Cold can lengthen this time, which is why cold-water drowning victims have been revived after as much as 40 minutes — without brain damage.
4. Your brain uses a fifth of all the blood in your body. It needs it to keep up with the heavy metabolic demands of its neurons. It needs not only the glucose that is delivered by the blood, but of course, the oxygen too.
5. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen that enters your bloodstream. The brain only makes up about 2% of our body mass, yet consumes more oxygen than any other organ in the body, making it extremely susceptible to damage related to oxygen deprivation. So breathe deep to keep your brain happy and swimming in oxygenated cells.
6. Your brain feels no pain. There are no nerves that register pain within the brain itself. Because of this, neurosurgeons can probe the brain while a patient is conscious. By doing this, they can use feedback from the patient to identify important regions such as those used for speech or visualisation. Although the brain itself does not have pain receptors and cannot feel pain, that doesn’t mean your head can’t hurt. The brain is surrounded by loads of tissues, nerves and blood vessels that are plenty receptive to pain and can give you a pounding headache.
7. The cerebellum is sometimes called the “little brain” and weighs about 150 grams (a little over five ounces). Found at the lower rear of your brain. Your cerebellum enables you to maintain posture, to walk and to perform coordinated movements. It may also play a role in your sense of smell.
8. Not gray, but pink! Your brain isn’t the firm, gray mass you’ve seen on TV. Living brain tissue is a squishy, pink and jelly-like organ thanks to the loads of blood and high water content of the tissue. So the next time you’re feeling dehydrated get a drink to keep your brain hydrated.
9. An elephant's brain is huge; about six times as large as a human brain. However, in relation to body size, humans have the largest brain of all the animals, averaging about 2% of body weight. A cat's brain weighs about one ounce, a little over 1% of body weight. I wonder if an ant has a brain. They’re quite clever, I think.
10. The brain is much more active at night than during the day. Logically, you would think that all the moving around, complicated calculations and tasks and general interaction we do on a daily basis during our working hours would take a lot more brain power than, say, lying in bed. Turns out, the opposite is true. When you turn off your brain turns on. Scientists don’t yet know why this is but you can thank the hard work of your brain while you sleep for all those pleasant dreams.
11. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Or any other encyclopaedia for that matter. Scientists have yet to settle on a definitive amount, but the storage capacity of the brain in electronic terms is thought to be between 3 or even 1,000 terabytes. The National Archives of Britain, containing over 900 years of history, only takes up 70 terabytes, making your brain’s memory power pretty darn impressive.
12. New connections. Every time you recall a memory or have a new thought, you are creating a new connection in your brain.
    
13. On average you have about 100 billion neurons. Pity they’re not always in action. However, you'll be happy about that after reading the next item.
14. You loose approximately 85,000 neurons every day of your life. Fortunately, this goes unnoticed due to the superfluous supply of neurons with which we are endowed; and the fact that even after three years this loss adds up to less than 1% of the total.
15. Recent research proves that your brain continues to produce new neurons throughout your life. Scientists refer to this as brain plasticity or neuro-plasticity. It has also been proven that neuro-plasticity increases in response to stimulation.
16. Dream! Scientists say the higher your I.Q. the more you dream. While this may be true, don’t take it as a sign you’re mentally lacking if you can’t recall your dreams. Most of us don’t remember many of our dreams and the average length of most dreams is only 2-3 seconds–barely long enough to register. Most people have an average of 4-7 dreams each night. Five minutes after a dream, half of the dream is forgotten. Ten minutes after a dream, over 90% is forgotten. Write down your dreams immediately if you want to remember them.
    
17. Create associations. Memory is formed by associations, so if you want help remembering things, create associations for yourself.
    
18. When you are stressed, feeling hostile or angry, your brain releases a chemical known as Cortisol, which inhibits learning. So to learn effectively, you will need to be stress free within a stress free environment.
19. Laughing. Laughing at a joke is no simple task as it requires activity in five different areas of the brain.
    
20. Food and intelligence. A study of one million students in New York showed that students who ate lunches that did not include artificial flavors, preservatives, and dyes did 14% better on IQ tests than students who ate lunches with these additives.
    
21. Music. It is proven that music can synchronise your brain waves, improve your mood and help you to learn more efficiently. Music lessons have shown to considerably boost brain organization and ability in both children and adults.
22. Boredom. Boredom is brought on by a lack of change of stimulation, is largely a function of perception, and is connected to the innate curiosity found in humans.
    
23. Brain size at birth. At birth, your brain was almost the same size as an adult brain and contained most of the brain cells for your whole life. A newborn baby’s brain grows about three times its size in the first year. (FYI: Your brain stopped growing at age 18).
    
24. Yawning keeps your brain cool. It is thought that a yawn works to send more oxygen to the brain, therefore working to cool it down and wake it up.
25. Stimulation. A stimulating environment for a child can make the difference between a 25% greater ability to learn or 25% less in an environment with little stimulation. So this investment has a high return on the learning investment!
26. Reading aloud stimulates child brain development. Reading aloud to children helps stimulate brain development, yet only 50% of infants and toddlers are routinely read to by their parents.... Missed opportunity!
    
27. Every brain has a soundtrack. Its tempo and tone will vary, depending on mood, frame of mind, and other features of the brain itself. When that soundtrack is recorded and played back - to an emergency responder, or a firefighter - it may sharpen their reflexes during a crisis, and calm their nerves afterward.
28. Working memory stores 7 digits. It's no accident that telephone numbers in many countries are seven digits long. Our working memory, a very short-term form of memory which stores ideas just long enough for us to understand them, can hold on average a maximum of seven digits. This allows you to look up a phone number and remember it just long enough to dial.
29. Physical illness. The connection between body and mind is a strong one. One estimate is that between 50-70% of visits to the doctor for physical ailments are attributed to psychological factors.
    
30. Blinking. Each time we blink, our brain kicks in and keeps things illuminated so the whole world doesn’t go dark each time we blink (about 20,000 times a day).
31. Reading faces. Without any words, you may be able to determine if someone is in a good mood, is feeling sad, or is angry just by reading the face. A small area in the brain called the Amygdala is responsible for your ability to read someone else’s face for clues to how they are feeling.
    
32. Decision-making. Women tend to take longer to make a decision, but are more likely to stick with the decision, compared to men, who are more likely to change their mind after making a decision.
33. Tickles. You can’t tickle yourself because your brain distinguished between unexpected external touch and your own touch.
    
34. Baby talk increases their vocabulary. A study showed that when mothers frequently spoke to their infants, their children learned about 300 more words by age two than did children whose mothers rarely spoke to them.
    
35. 3 = the weight of your brain in pounds (1.360777 kilograms). Albert Einstein's brain may have been smaller than yours, because he was smaller than average. There is a general correlation between body size and the size of our brains. (FYI: Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain).
    
36. 273 Kilometer per hour: Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 273 km/170 miles per hour. So if you have ever wondered how you can react so fast to things around you or why that stubbed toe hurts right away; it’s due to the super-speedy movement of nerve impulses from your brain to the rest of your body and vice versa, bringing reactions at the speed of a high powered luxury sports car.
37. 4 to 6 = the number of minutes your brain can survive without oxygen before it starts to die. No oxygen for 5 to 10 minutes will result in permanent brain damage. Don’t test it!
38. 8 to 10 = the number of seconds you have before losing consciousness due to blood loss.
39. 10 to 23 = the number of watts of power your grain generates when you’re awake (that’s enough to turn on a light bulb!). Don’t save your brainpower to much, it will fuse!
40. Information travels at different speeds within different types of neurons. Not all neurons are the same. There are a few different types within the body and transmission along these different kinds can be as slow as 0.5 meters/sec or as fast as 120 meters/sec.
41. 75%-80% of the brain is water.
42. 160.000 KM / 100,000 miles: total length of blood vessels in one human brain. If they were stretched out, they would circle the earth more than four times.
43. 1.000 to 10.000 = the number of synapses for each neuron in your brain.
44. Each person has about the same number of brain cells at birth as in adulthood, but those cells grow, reaching maximum size at about age six.
45. Using brain imaging data, it is possible to tell whether a person is thinking about a face or a place.
46. Bilingual brains. Children who learn two languages before the age of five alters the brain structure and adults have a much denser gray matter.
    
47. Your brain is composed mostly of fat and needs the right kind of that fat as fuel so that it can function efficiently. This is why oily fish or fish oil containing Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is so important in the diet; your brain needs it to run smoothly, but cannot produce it. Especially the Omega-3 fatty acid is an important ingredient for optimal brain function: It is a rich source of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), a fatty acid that is found in high concentration in the gray matter of the brain. DHA is instrumental in the function of brain cell membranes, which are important for the transmission of brain signals. By making cell membranes more fluid, Omega-3 fatty acids, especially DHA, improve communication between the brain cells. Hence the healthy advise to take food & supplements containing Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
48. Brain Bank. Harvard University maintains a Brain Bank where over 7,000 human brains are stored for research purposes.
49. Thoughts. The average number of thoughts that humans are believed to experience each day is 70,000.
    
50. Keep exercising your brain, because mental activity stimulates the creation of new neurons throughout your whole life. For useful insights and tips, please read Boost Your Brain Power!.

When you have finished reading about these fun facts, please take this short brainpower quiz and see how much you learned about the human brain.

"Ideas must work through the brains and arms of men, or they are no better than dreams." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Warm regards & success,

Patrick

9 Things Successful People Do Differently

Why have you been so successful in reaching some of your goals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far from alone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highly accomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes to understanding why they succeed or fail.
The intuitive answer -that you are born predisposed to certain talents and lacking in others- is really just one small piece of the puzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievement suggests that successful people reach their goals not simply because of who they are, but more often because of what they do.

1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be as specific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than "lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea of what success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want to achieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, think about the specific actions that need to be taken to reach your goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" is too vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm on weeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you need to do, and whether or not you've actually done it.

2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given how busy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling at once, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunities to act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Did you really have no time to work out today? No chance at any point to return that phone call?
Achieving your goal means grabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip through your fingers. To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.").
Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%!!!

3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest and regular monitoring of your progress—if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know how well you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check your progress frequently—weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.

4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positive thinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormously helpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate how difficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, and persistence.
Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves you ill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.

5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach your goals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that our intelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, we won't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather than developing and acquiring new skills.

Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong—abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allow you to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about getting better, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face of difficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn higher college GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. In fact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it. People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilities successful people have. If that describes your own thinking…well, there's no way to put this nicely: you are wrong!
As I mentioned earlier; effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.

7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in your body—when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give it regular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able to help you successfully reach your goals.

To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather not do. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourself slouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just not bother—don't.
Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubles when they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces of dried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. As your strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.

8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam. Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking and dieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way—many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situations where temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than it already is.

9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight, quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thought suppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thought makes it even more active in your mind.
The same holds true when it comes to behavior — by trying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken.

If you want change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are trying to gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathing as a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until it disappears completely.

It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you have gained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, I hope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to your advantage from now on.
Remember; you don't need to become a different person to become a more successful one. It's never what you are, but what you DO!
Provided by Harvard Business Review—Copyright © 2010 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.

3 Questions for Increased Happiness

"Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within your control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental role and learned to distinguish between what you can and can't control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible." - Epictetus

By Brian Tracy
You already have everything you need to create a wonderful life for yourself. You know everything you need to know to be your own best friend, a gentle guide, a teacher and a helper to yourself so you can be truly happy and fulfilled.

You can learn how to become your own psychotherapist for life, and how to resolve the difficulties that stand between you and personal joy.

Be Honest With Yourself
The starting point of becoming your own best friend is for you to be perfectly honest with yourself and your relationships. Refuse to practice self-delusion or hope for the best. For example, when something is making you unhappy, for any reason, the situation will tend to get worse rather than better.
So avoid the temptation to engage in denial, to pretend that nothing is wrong, to wish and hope and pray that, whatever it is, it will go away and you won't have to do anything. The fact is that it probably will get worse before it gets better and that ultimately you will need to face the situation and do something about it.

Deal With Your Problem at a Higher Level
There's an old saying that you can't solve a problem on the level that you meet it. This means that wrestling with a persistent problem is often fruitless and frustrating. For example, if two people who are in a relationship together are constantly fighting and negotiating and looking for some way to resolve their difficulties, they may be attempting to solve the problem on the wrong level. Dealing with the problem on a higher level, those people would ask the question, "In terms of being happy, is this the right relationship for us in the first place?"

Find the Right Job For You
Many people work very hard and experience considerable frustration trying to do a particular job. However, in terms of their own happiness, the right answer might be to do something else, or to do what they're doing in a different place, or to do it with different people-or all three.

Here are a few questions for you to answer in this arena of happiness. Write them down at the top of a sheet of paper, and then write as many answers to each one as you possibly can.

What Would It Take?
The first question is: "What would it take for me to be perfectly happy?" Write down every single thing that you can imagine would be in your life if you were perfectly happy at this very moment. Write down things such as health, happiness, prosperity, loving relationships, inner peace, travel, car, clothes, homes, money, and so on. Let your mind run freely. Imagine that you have no limitations at all.

What is Holding You Back?
The second question is a little tougher. Write down at the top of a page this question: "In what situations in my life, and with whom, am I not perfectly happy?" Force yourself to think about every part of your day, from morning to night, and write down every element that makes you unhappy or dissatisfied in any way. Remember, proper diagnosis is half the cure. Identifying the unsatisfactory situations is the first step to resolving them.

Determine Your Happiest Moment
The third question will give you some important guidelines. Write down at the top of a sheet of paper these words: "In looking over my life, where and when have I been the happiest? Where was I, with whom was I, and what was I doing?"

Decide What to Do
Once you have the answers to those questions, think about what you can do, starting immediately, to begin creating the kind of life that you dream of. It may take you a week, a month, or a year, but that doesn't matter. Every single thing you do that moves you closer to your ideal vision will be rewarding in itself. You'll become a more positive and optimistic person. You'll feel more confident and more in charge of your life, and you'll achieve true peace of mind.

Action Exercises
Here are three steps you can take immediately to put these ideas into action.

1. Examine your business and personal relationships carefully. Is there any situation you wouldn't get into again if you had it to do over?
2. Make a list of every single thing in your life that would make you happy and then think about what you could do to begin achieving them.
3. Allow yourself to dream and fantasize about your ideal life, what it would look like and feel like, and then do something every day to make it a reality.

For further reading about how to increase your happiness, please see:

• What Makes You Really Happy?
• Actions 4 Happiness
• Smile!
• 4 Essentials 4 Happiness
  

Change Begins With Choice!

“Whatever you want in your life, the key to your success is to transform your thinking, emotions and behaviour!” - Patrick W. Driessen

By Patrick Driessen
A new year, a new beginning, a new start....of what? Of CHANGE! At least, if YOU choose to change! Because you yourself have the choice to change your positive self-direction, your habits, your skills, your thinking, your emotions, your friends, your income, etc. etc. The late well-known author/speaker/mega-coach/mentor Jim Rohn has written the following wise advise about your choice to change.

Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all! Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing..... We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth!

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness, success and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life - If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree!  

YOU have the ability to TOTALLY transform EVERY area in YOUR life - and it all begins with your very own POWER of CHOICE!

Make this a Positive & Fruitful Day... unless you have other plans!

Thanks, warm regards & success with your change process,



Patrick

Life Lessons

By Patrick Driessen

"One thing is clear to me. You can't know everything you'd like to know. You can't do everything you'd like to do. You can't read everything you'd like to read. You must hold onto some things and let go of others. Learning to make that choice is one of the big lessons of this life.” - Real Life Preacher

“Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century!” - Dame Edna Everage

Based on some recent questions I have received from a few close friends about what my best life lessons are, I've been stretching my own thinking about my best life lessons. I've now worked these out in a list to help improve my own personal & business performance. It's quite personal and you might not appreciate all of it, but I'm sure you can benefit from some of it as well.

1. Compliment even small improvements.
2. Call your mother/father on a regular basis.
3. Keep your promises (no matter what).
4. Don't be afraid to say "I made a mistake".
5. Communicate openly, honestly and directly.
6. Never underestimate the power of love.
7. Compliment at least 3 people every day.
8. Think big thoughts, relish small pleasures.
9. Say "Thank you" and "Please" a lot.
10. Wish friends, family & colleagues a happy birthday.
11. Be kind and respectful to anyone you meet.
12. Sing under the shower.
    
13. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
14. Have a firm handshake and look the other straight in the eyes when shaking hands.
15. Send anonymous Valentine cards with the text: "From someone who thinks you're terrific".
16. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
17. Look people in the eye and focus your body language to the other, so you are in full listening mode.
18. Always raise more questions to gain more knowledge.
19. Expand and maintain your network (it's not what you know, but who you know).
20. Do a good deed every day.
21. Plant a tree at least once a year (on your birthday!).
22. Do not multi-task while listening to what someone else has to say.
23. Be the first to say "Hello".
24. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
25. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
26. Be there when people need you.
27. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
    
28. Take a multi-vitamin pill, a Vitamin-B Complex pill and sufficient fish-oil (Omega-3) pills every day.
29. Make at least three people smile each day.
30. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'
31. Never waste an opportunity to tell someone you love them.
32. Become an expert in kissing, dancing and making love: you'll be the best lover in the world!
33. Care about your own health and have a full health check at least once a year.
34. Be the best parent to your children and spend enough quality time with them.
35. Don't expect life to be fair. But it's still good.
36. Always wave and smile at kids on school buses.
    
37. Drink champagne for no reason at all.
38. Live your life as an exclamation, not as an explanation.
39. Regularly think about and plan for the top-50 things you want to do/achieve/experience before you’ll die.
40. Surprise yourself and your loved ones at least once a week.
41. Smile and laugh as much as possible! A good sense of humour cures almost all of life's ills.
42. Life's too short to waste time hating anyone.
43. Don't save on the quality of food or wine/champagne.
44. Watch a sunrise at least once a year.
45. Always accept an outstretched hand.
    
46. You don't have to shout to get your point across if you use the right words.
47. To constantly improve yourself: be self-critical and ask your friends and colleagues for their honest feedback to help you improve.
48. Have a dedicated external coach and a mentor, and an internal mentor as well. They should be your trusted advisers.
49. The more you exercise your networking muscles, the stronger they get.
50. Dare to be different and stand-out.
51. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
52. Set a bar high when you take on a new challenge.
53. Leave the (cleaned) toilet seat in the down position.
54. Entrepreneurs are people who take the cold water thrown on their idea, heat it with enthusiasm, make steam and push ahead.
55. Make new friends but cherish the old ones.
    
56. Learn four clean jokes.
    
57. Share your thoughts, ideas, knowledge and experience with others, so they can benefit from it as well.
58. You need to win the war and not necessarily every battle.
59. Technology should improve your life, not become your life.
60. Reward yourself at least once per week if you have earned it for something challenging you have achieved or overcome successfully.
61. Wake up with a smile!
    
62. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed-out charge card.
63. Plan and take quality time to focus on your personal development.
64. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
65. Carry jumper cables in your trunk.
    
66. Do everything you do with passion and dedication.
67. Always try to control yourself: Remember, anger is just one letter short of danger.
68. A lot of people lie. Surprising isn't it? Well they do, so accept it. Do not start lying as well; always be honest to yourself and to others, it will make you a better person.
69. Strive for excellence, not perfection.
70. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
71. Buy whatever kids are selling on card tables in their front yards.
    
72. In business, you should walk your talk... and know when to talk before you walk.
73. Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.
74. There will always be people who do not like you, and you don't like. Be very nice to them (especially to your enemies); it will annoy them!
75. Feed a stranger's expired parking meter.
    
76. Always smile just before you answer an incoming phone call.
    
77. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
78. It is amazingly rewarding and satisfying to help someone in their time of need. It helps them, and it also helps you!
79. The most powerful single thing you can do to influence others is to smile at them.
80. Forgive everyone for everything.
81. Keep it simple.
    
82. Always listen to the advice you give to others, and apply it to your own life.
83. Friends are amazing, and true friends are rare, so cherish them.
84. You're never old enough to stop learning.
85. Dress to impress.
86. Marry only for true love!
    
87. What other people think of you is none of your business.
88. How people play the game shows something of their character. How they lose shows all of it.
89. Leave everything a little better than you found it.
    
90. Miracles happen everyday.
91. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
    
92. Be brave even if your not, pretend to be. No one can tell the difference.
93. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
94. When you help others, they will help you in return. It comes in handy.
95. Good jokes will always bring laughter and smiles, just share them.
96. Let go of the past, you can not change it. Just take the lessons learned and apply them in your future.
97. Take the time to relax.
98. Ask for a salary raise when you feel you have earned it.
    
99. Do at least twenty hours of community work per year.
100. Expect the unexpected.
101. Never give up on anybody.
102. Learn to listen. Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly.
103. Never deprive someone of hope, it might be all they have.
104. When someone hugs you, let them be the first to let go.
105. Never cut what can be untied.
106. Be forgiving of yourself and others.
     
107. Always be the first to make a proposal; it will get you in a better negotiation position.
108. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!
109. Remember that nobody makes it alone. Have a grateful heart and be quick to acknowledge those who help you.
110. Never underestimate the power of a kind word or deed.
111. Overtip breakfast waitresses.
     
112. Don't miss the magic of the moment by focusing on what’s to come.
113. Remember: Success comes to the one that acts first.
114. Watch for big problems. They disguise big opportunities.
115. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
116. Avoid negative people.
     
117. You have only one life, make every day the best it can be.
118. Always see the positive side, the glass is half full!
119. Read at least one book a month (leaders are readers).
120. In deal-making: all rules can be bent or broken (except in law and science)
121. Take a friend for coffee once a week.
122. Give more, expect less from a personal perspective.
123. Allocate time for personal development on a regular basis.
124. Life's too short not to show your love or appreciation to someone or something!
125. What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us. What we have done for others lasts forever!
126. Always wear polished shoes.
     
127. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
128. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
129. Growing old surely beats the alternative: dying young!
130. Remember other people's birthdays.
     
131. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
132. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
133. Become an entrepreneurial leader and a leading entrepreneur!
134. You can get everything in life you want, if you help enough other people get what they want.
     
135. The best is yet to come!

“It is confidence in our bodies, minds and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures, new directions to grow in, and new lessons to learn - which is what life is all about!” - Oprah Winfrey


"The best investment anyone can ever make is an investment in oneself!" - Patrick Driessen

Make this a Positive & Fruitful Day…..unless you have other plans!

Warm regards & success,


Patrick Driessen

© Patrick W. Driessen. All rights reserved.

Actions 4 Happiness

By Patrick Driessen

"The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet." - James Openheim

After I published my blog post about What Makes You Really Happy? I received many responses from people who informed me it was a real eye-opener for them and in many cases they had concluded they were after things which would NOT make them happy…. I also received a lot of requests for additional guidance on how to become happier and more successful.

Below you’ll find a broad overview of actions which you can take to increase your own happiness. Success guaranteed! You can’t go wrong with any of these and I’m sure they’ll help you to become more successful and happier in each and every area of your life!

• Have Meaningful Goals
  People who strive for something significant, whether it’s learning a new craft or raising moral children, are far happier than those who don’t have strong dreams or aspirations. As humans, we require a sense of meaning to thrive. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. Click here for guidance to help you decide what you want. Click here to help you with dreaming and goal setting.
• Build Valuable Relationships
  Now more then ever we can really claim “It’s a small world”, because thanks to new technology and social media networks, it has become fairly easy to build relationships with other people around the globe. As long as you make sure you turn your new relationships in valuable relationships, they’ll make you happier! Click here for more information on how to use social media to expand your network.
• Smile Even When You Don’t Feel Like It
  It sounds simple, but it works. Happy people…see possibilities, opportunities, and success. When they think of the future, they are optimistic, and when they review the past, they tend to savor the high points. Even if you weren’t born looking at the glass as half-full, with practice, a positive outlook can become a habit. Click here to learn more about smiling.
• Say Thank You Like You Mean It
  People who keep gratitude journals on a weekly basis are healthier, more optimistic, and more likely to make progress toward achieving personal goals. People who write “gratitude letters or emails” to someone who made a difference in their lives score higher on happiness, and lower on depression, and… the effect lasts for weeks!
• Maintain Your Brain
  Our brain is where all our experiences, learning’s, emotions, etc. are being turned into….HAPPINESS! The better the condition of your brain, the larger its capacity to turn your emotions and experiences into happiness! Daily intake of apple juice, almonds, whole wheat, Omega3 (fish oil), vitamin-B Complex, enough sleep and various brain exercises will all help to boost your brain power. Click here for more info on how to maintain your brain.
• Savor Everyday Moments
  Pause now and then to smell a rose or watch children at play. Study participants who took time to “savor” ordinary events that they normally hurried through, or to think back on pleasant moments from their day, showed significant increases in happiness and reductions in depression.
• Avoid Comparisons
  Comparing ourselves with others can be damaging to happiness and self-esteem. Instead of comparing ourselves to others, focusing on our own personal achievement leads to greater satisfaction. 
  
• Bake Your Own Bread
  Satisfying, rewarding, healthy and easy to do: bake your own bread. With your own bread machine you can wake up every morning with the smell of fresh baked bread, which makes you happy and will make you smile. Click here for information on how to do it.
• Put Money Low on the List
  People who put money high on their priority list are more at risk for depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem, according to various studies. Research findings hold true across nations and cultures. The more we seek satisfactions in material goods, the less we find them there! The satisfaction has a short half-life; it’s very fleeting. Money-seekers also score lower on tests of vitality and self-actualization.
• Coach Your Own Health
  People who successfully manage the health of their body and mind are more balanced, more successful and happier! A combination of the right nutrition and liquid intake, exercise, relaxation, and regular health checks will result in the best possible and happiest health. To learn more about how to coach your own health, click here.
• Take Initiative at Work
  How happy you are at work depends in part on how much initiative you take! When we express creativity, help others, suggest improvements, or do additional tasks on the job, we make our work more rewarding and feel more in control.
• Make Friends and Treasure Family
  Happier people tend to have good families, close friends, and supportive relationships. But it’s not enough to be the life of the party if you’re surrounded by shallow acquaintances. We don’t just need relationships, we need close ones that involve understanding and caring.
• Make Love!
  Yes, it’s no surprise that lovemaking boosts your happiness levels!
• Get Out and Exercise
  A Duke University study shows that exercise may be just as effective as drugs in treating depression, without all the side effects and expense. Other research shows that in addition to health benefits, regular exercise offers a sense of accomplishment and opportunity for social interaction, releases feel-good endorphins, and boosts self-esteem!
• Give Hugs
  Hugs stimulate oxytocin, the “love hormone”; spreading a feel-good boost.
• Keep a Gratitude Journal
  Writing about what you are thankful for both helps retrain your brain to be more optimistic and positively impacts your health!
• Give It Away, Give It Away Now
  

  Make altruism and giving part of your life, and be purposeful about it. Helping a neighbour, volunteering, or donating goods and services results in a “helper’s high,” and you get more health benefits than you would from exercise or quitting smoking. Listening to a friend, passing on your skills, celebrating others’ successes, and forgiveness also contribute to happiness. Those who spend money on others create much greater happiness than those who spend it on themselves! For example: Spending time on teaching, coaching, mentoring and guiding others to succeed is most rewarding and satisfying and really makes you happy!

If you follow these proven 'Actions 4 Happiness', I am sure it will also enable you to become more successful, increase your happiness and enhance the quality and quantity of your life!

A good question to ask yourself is: will having more success make you happy, will being happy make you more successful, is it both or somewhere in the middle? For you to find out!

"Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want." - Margaret Young

Make this a Positive & HAPPY day....unless you have other plans!

Thanks, warm regards & success,

Patrick Driessen