Home Lifestyles Advice March 2009 Brainstorm E-Bulletin

March 2009 Brainstorm E-Bulletin

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March 21, 2009 – Spring is in the air – almost! And it's almost time for my two London workshops, so if you're interested in making money with your writing, or learning time managements methods that really work, this is your last chance to sign up. See below item number three and get in touch quickly. And, of course, see how you can put the following notions to work for you:
1: Invitation to time travel
Is time travel possible? Yes! Well, at least virtually. At Stanford University a researcher had young people virtually experience old age and asked them to decide what they'd do if their current (younger) selves were given a thousand dollars. According to Psychology Today, those with the elderly avatar put more than twice as much into long-term savings.
What advice would you give your twenty-year-old self? What advice do you think you'd get today from the twenty years older version of yourself? To find out, set up two chairs facing each other. When you sit in the first one, you are your present self. Then move to the other one and imagine this is the twenty-years-older version of you. In this chair, what do you want to tell the current you?
Action: Give this exercise a try. You can also experiment with different time periods – what would the one-year-older you have to say? How about the five-years-older you?
2: To be more creative, move to the boundary.
Cambridge professor Alan Macfarlane is studying the lives of 100 modern scientists, historians and explorers to try to find out what conditions created their "Eureka!" breakthrough moments. The study won't come out until next year but for now he says that creativity is often found in "people who live on the margins or the border between different cultures."
Is there a way to create this condition? Certainly travel seems to prompt new thoughts, and maybe you could get the same effect by attending different cultural events, listening to different music, learning a new language, or even just reading online news from sources outside your country.
Action: What small step can you take this week to move a little outside your traditional habits and comfort zone?
3: Still Multi-Tasking? Consider this…
In the book, "The Power of Impossible Thinking," Yoram Wind and Colin Crook cite a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation. It exposed test subjects to phone calls, automated directions and Internet newscasts. At the same time, they were given a very simple math problem to solve. The results: "One in six drivers missed their turn, some didn't answer the cell phone and many failed to answer the simple problem. Only two or three of the 36 test subjects went off the road…"
Action: If you're still multi-tasking, try a day during which you focus on only one thing at a time. At the end of the day, check: did you get less done, or more? Do you feel more stressed, or less?
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Last Call for Jurgen's London Workshops:
Reclaim Your Time! If you're overwhelmed with things to do and are struggling with procrastination and never seem to find the time to do the things that mean the most to you, you're ready to learn the new time management methods I'll be sharing on Saturday, March 28, 2009 at Regent's College in Central London, from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Your investment is only £49 + VAT. Or save by also attending the other workshop that day (see below). For full information, email [email protected] or call Sheridan on 020 7580 4997.
Writing Where the Money Is. If you want to make money writing books, articles or online, come and find out how on Saturday, March 28, from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. at Regent's College, Central London. We'll cover how to write book proposals, whether you need an agent (and how to get one), how to make editors love you and how to use one article (or book chapter) six times. Your investment is only £49 + VAT or do both workshops for only £88 +VAT. For full information, e-mail [email protected] or call Sheridan on 020 7580 4997.
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4: Do you have a star moment in your presentations or pitches?
The people at Duarte, who helped Al Gore create his "Inconvenient Truth" presentation and all the TED talks, teach what they call S.T.A.R. Moments (registered trademark! – it stands for Something They'll Always Remember). It's the moment that surprises people and that they talk about afterward.
Bill Gates had a great one recently when he talked about malaria, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. He said, "I brought some here so you could experience this." He took off the lid of a jar and released a swarm. "We'll let these roam around the auditorium a little bit," he said. "There's no reason that only poor people should have the experience."
Notice that it's not shocking or nutty for the sake of it – the best moments add meaning as well as surprise.
Action: If you have a presentation or pitch coming up, what STAR moment can you create?
5: To be smarter, have a drink.
A drink of water, that is. A study at the University of East London showed that kids (seven to nine years old) scored significantly better on various tests if they drank a glass of water first. The primary researcher, Dr. Caroline Edmonds, said it's possible that water improves the flow of information between brain cells. Previous studies showed similar results with adults.
Action: Keep a bottle of water handy and sip frequently when you're working.
6: And a quote to think about:
"Work is a protective canopy from dark thoughts about the flying time. Creativity creates energy, and energy stimulates the feeling of life." – Federico Fellini
Until next time,
Jurgen
PS: If you're interested in joining one of my London workshops, call or e-mail now. If you're interested in self-publishing, you'll also want to come to SP4UK on May 30 in Chelmsford, Essex. I'll be one of several guest speakers and there will also be stands and displays from a variety of sponsors. For more information, see www.sp4uk.co.uk
PPS: If you haven't looked at my blog lately, you've missed posts on: in praise of eccentrics without labels, why it's good to doodle, Jane Austen and zombies, a brief audio on how taking a chance pays off, overcoming procrastination with a headline and much more. Why not go take a look now – it's at timetowrite.blogs.com
PPPS: If you want to a free course (8 mini-lessons, one per week) on overcoming procrastination, just sign up at tameyourinnercritic.com. You'll also find a wealth of right-brain breakthrough ways to achieve your goals in my newest book, "Focus: the power of targeted thinking." The Web site for it is focusquick.com.

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