Thursday, October 29, 2009

Ideas

I am always looking for new ideas, new concepts and upcoming technology.  TED (http://www.ted.com/) is a great source of new ideas on an international level and I have written about TED in my Newsletter. 

Locally, you might consider looking at Ideas Boston (http://www.ideasboston.com/).  Ideas Boston  sponsored by a variety of influential partners such as The Boston Globe, WBUR, Comcast, State Street Bank, IBM, etc. was created by The Boston Globe in 2004.  As a non-profit organization, it promotes innovation, diseminates new ideas  and hosts an annual conference of cutting-edge thinkers.  Have a look and a listen.  

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Split Second Judgement

Looking for an interesting book?  Have a look at BlinkBlink, The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. It is a study of the impact our instantaneous unconscious thought process has on our decisions, judgments and reactions.  The evidence is uncanny how our unconscious mind does not communicate with our conscious mind, but does communicate with our emotions and judgments. It explains why we might react in a certain way without understanding why, it is our unconscious brain affecting our emotions. 

It is used by marketers to manipulate our first impressions. And it can be seen in our faces when we instantly react to a statement or situation. It makes you ponder how you think in the moment vs. with sense and sensibility.  Your first reactions can be tested by looking at your pulse, sweat and breathing.  You can't help your instantaneous immediate reaction.  It is part of you.  You don't think about it because it arrives in a blink of an eye. Some might call it intuition.  Whatever it is, it is powerful and commanding. 

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The Vision of a Child

In 1982, when I started my company I create an Image Book. You ask, "what is an Image Book"?  Search the Internet and you will be hard pressed to locate a description. Scan Wikipedia and you will find no explanation. So here it is for all to see. An Image Book is a very personal record of the images, both words and objects, that will be in your life many years in the future - as if they were part of your life today. Images of your success, health, wealth and happiness. It contains the words and phrases that will hold true meaning for you as you chart your course. It is meant to be reviewed and pondered every day.

Well, I just wiped the dust off my Image Book and leafed through the plastic sheathed pages. It was very interesting. Many of the images have come and gone - like that Sony Betamax I had my heart set on. But many have come into my life like the travel and the technology, cars and buildings.

The most powerful impression from this, almost 30 year old document, were the words I selected. They still hold true today as they did when I was half as old. Such as, 


When our childhood ended, did we cease to dream? Hardly. Yet after quiet moments looking beyond the horizon, we hesitate to speak. We pull back, rationalize into insignificance. Are we embarrassed by the "childishness" of it all? What a loss. For, surely to benefit from seeing things anew, we must acknowledge the sense of wonder that remains with us. And grant that child freedom. So, share your vision, your big ideas. And just perhaps it will fly.


Sorry but the author is unknown.
Think about what you want in your life. Make yourself an Image Book. You will be surprised ten years from now at how capable you were at predicting the future.