A Whole New Mind is a book describing the importance of right brain approaches. The theory is that the majority of left brain jobs (programming, math, legal work, etc.) will soon be outsourced to China/India. It’s the same concern where factory jobs were being replaced by computers years ago. So, the idea is that we should activate our right brain to do something that can’t be outsourced – our creative nature within our jobs in a left-brain world.
Here’s the bullets:
- – Left Hemisphere controls the right side, and vice versa
- – Right brain understands beauty, gives spirituality, understands empathy, decodes faces
- While living standards have risen decade after decade – personal, family, and life satisfaction haven’t budged. Purpose and meaning.
- farmers (agriculture age) > Factory Workers (ind. age) > knowledge workers (info age) > creators (concept age)
- Questions to ask of your career: Can someone overseas do it cheaper, Can a computer do it faster, Is what I’m offering in demand in an age of abundance?
- New business requires a mixture of art and empathy. Poetry between the lines. Understand of concerns. Etc.
- IQ doesn’t mean anything in Job Success. IQ accounts for 4-10 percent success. Emotional intelligence has way more of a saying power.
- Most effective leaders are funny.
- Six Senses for success:
- Design
- Design is a powerful tool. Yet the older you get, less likely you want to call yourself an “artist”. 1st graders… everyone is an artist. 6th grade, not many people think of themselves this way.
- Understand and love to do design. Design will change the world.
- Well designed places in hospitals with natural light can help patients significantly heal.
- Examples
- Create a design notebook. Write down wonderful designs, and then write about horrible designs.
- Normal is not good
- Three types of people: those who create culture, those who buy culture, and those won’t don’t care. Live in between the first two.
- Story
- Stories are easy to remember. Stories amuse. Facts illuminate.
- Always place facts in the context of story. Dress the facts up.
- Stories represent a pathway of understanding that doesn’t run through the left side of the brain.
- Symphony
- Ability to put together the pieces
- Understanding patterns and putting it together before anyone else does
- Perspective is more important than IQ
- Most powerful ideas come from combining two existing ideas nobody else ever thought to unite.
- Metaphors are important – Understanding things in terms of something else. Use better metaphors. Human thought processes are largely metaphorically.
- All great entrepreneurs are systems thinkers
- If you want a creative life, experience the beauty of the mistakes you’ll make
- Empathy
- Leadership is about empathy.Relate and connect with the people for purpose of inspiration
- Importance of understanding expressions and connecting with people
- Play
- People rarely succeed at things they aren’t having fun doing
- Games sharpen skills
- Physicians who play video games 3 hours/week, made 37 percent less mistakes
- Humor – its about surprise, and is one of the highest forms of human intelligence
- Humor reduces hostility, relieves tension and improves morale
- But beware and don’t use negative humor. It’s destructive.
- Children laugh hundred times per day. Adults maybe 12. This is bad, so keep on laughing to be joyful
- Laugh Yoga
- Laughter is a social activity. We laugh together, so this helps strengthen relationships
- Laugh together and work better together
- Laughter = More creative people and environment
- Best inventors are playful. Best players are inventive.
- Purpose
- Living a purposeful life (Viktor Frankl)
- Man’s main concern is not seeking pleasure or avoid pain. It’s to see a meaning in his life.
- Start taking spirituality and happiness seriously
- Science is merely one way to understand the world
- Always exchange the “but” for “and”
e.g. I’d like to spend more time with my family “and” I travel a lot for my job.
- Design