Hi Reader! I hope you've had an amazing week.
I'm writing, slightly sleep-deprived, after an all-day music festival yesterday that segued right into staying up even later to make sure our teenager safely drove himself home after the latest party he's ever asked to go to. As I say often, fun can be hard work.
I shared this in a one-off email last week, but in case you missed it...
I'm doing a free training (live via Zoom) on Thursday, and would love to see you there.
The topic is "4x Leadership Meetings" — accomplishing twice as much, in half the time.
Thursday - MAY 23, 2024
Live via Zoom
1pm ET / Noon CT / 10am PT
This week's creative thinking workout: |
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Become an idea machine.
If you only apply one creative thinking workout regularly, this is the one.
It comes from author-investor-podcaster-entrepreneur James Altucher, in his book Choose Yourself.
(There is a ton of good stuff in that book, but it is all-over-the-place. He makes no apologies for writing stream of consciousness advice that veers many directions. It won't be everyone's jam.)
His simple advice to become an "idea machine": Write down ten new ideas every day.
These ideas can be about anything—business concepts, solutions to specific challenges, ways to improve our lives, or even just "wouldn't-this-be-cool?" ideas.
The key is to regularly challenge our brains, strengthening our "idea muscles" over time and thus making it easier to generate valuable ideas when needed.
It sounds simple — but ten new ideas every. single. day. is harder than it sounds. Especially at first. But as those muscles get stronger, the ideas come more easily, they get better, and we get more confident in our abilities.
Tip: The ideas don't have to be perfect. They might even be bad. It's okay. The value comes from the process of regularly doing it.
Imagine that only one percent of our ideas are truly great. That's one truly great idea for every 99 meh ideas.
Doing this every day = 36 truly great ideas every year. |
Crushing the Soulcrushers
Three classes we should have had in high school
Yeah, nobody really loves high school — but I would totally go back just for these classes.
Even for those of us who nod our heads in agreement to these topics, we probably haven't deep-dived and immersed ourselves as much as we should. Mastering these both keeps the soulcrushers away and invites big successes.
Fantasy Class #1:
"Introduction to Change"
It's somewhat like a History class, but would focus on what changed — why it changed, how people adapted, what was disrupted, what emerged, and how long it all took.
But unlike a History class, Introduction to Change would also look to the FUTURE and help students anticipate changes that will be coming in their lifetime.
The class could also cover the psychology of change, how it affects behavior and mental health, and how to be good at it ourselves.
I've been saying "change will never be this slow again" in presentations for nearly 15 years, and I've been right. It's dizzying how fast it's happening now.
Fantasy Class #2:
"Curiosity and Rapid Skill Acquisition"
Sadly, it feels more like curiosity is being taught OUT of students in high school.
But imagine a class that is deliberately unstructured, where the students have to figure out what they want to learn and what skills they want to build.
Then, imagine giving them the confidence and frameworks to quickly pivot and learn new skills fast.
This class wouldn't be about answers, but about the process of getting there.
Fantasy Class #3:
"AP Embracing Failure"
I made this one an AP class, just for fun. It does seem advanced level, though.
Seeing failure as an opportunity to grow and learn is more important than it's ever been — and it will be even more important in the future.
We could teach the history of failures turning into success, the psychology of failure, and resilience training.
Importantly, the class would highlight the big difference between failure that comes from trying things vs failure that comes from not trying.
What if the only way to get an A in the class was to get an F?
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🤔 Thoughts? What other classes would have helped us truly be ready to thrive in today's working world? Reply and share.
Let's crush some soulcrushers,
-Tim-
