January 2019

Coloring Outside Of The Lines   About a decade ago, our granddaughter of 8 was coming to stay with us for spring break.  If you or anyone you have ever known who has had the responsibility of entertaining an 8 year old for more than an hour, you know the fear my wife and I […]

I will Guess Your Card Here’s a fun little card trick I can actually put on the pages of this book. I will guess your card.  Here is how we will do this.  I will place 5 cards face up below.  I want you to study the cards and pick one card out.  Don’t tell

When I ran my computer company, we would often take the day off and go hiking in the desert.  We were always surprised how many amazing ideas we got while walking and climbing.  It was a completely different environment, free from stress.  It was always a very creative place to be. One day I was

20 Ways to Eliminate Stress By Leaving Your Desk   Go to the park Play a video game Watch an animated kids movie (like “Sing”) Visit a playground and ride a swing Go to the zoo Go roller skating Buy a coloring book & color Create & eat your own recipes Read a bunch of

20 Ways To Eliminate Stress Without Leaving Your Desk   The Communicate part of the Three C’s can also be a form of meditation.  Meditation is nothing more than focusing your mind and shielding yourself from outside disturbances.  When you can eliminate outside interference, you bring your body and your mind to a calm state. 

Interruptions Are Destructive   In The Zone   Have you heard the expression, “Being in the zone?”  Have you ever been in the zone?  If so, you know exactly what it means.  It means you are so focused that you are one with your thoughts, your game, your performance. If during this time, you were

Communicate Maya Angelou called this her “Piddling Time”. The Communicate phase of this formula is by far the most important.  This is where you have to allow and provide an environment where your subconscious right brain can communicate with your conscious left brain.  This part is extremely easy to do if you are willing to

Calculate   Calculate is the easiest part of this three part formula.  This is the part where you just kick back and wait for it to happen.   During this time, you will still be Collecting and matching the new information with the information that is already in your subconscious.  It’s like assembling a puzzle. 

The Seven Why’s Here’s another fun technique for getting to the bottom of things.  It’s also really fast.  It called  The “Seven Whys” of problem solving. There’s no question who invented this technique.  Anyone who has had or has ever been around pre-schoolers know the Seven Whys parent torture. You’ve heard it before. Child says,

The Five W’s   To help the collection process, there are a few things that will help.  Be proactive in researching random topics.  You’ll know it when you see it.  You can also take a close look at the problem or innovation you are trying to solve.  Remember, not all innovation is to solve a