Some shape-your-brain entertainment.

May 10th, 2013

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“We can actually be happier people…if we take responsibility for our own mind.” – Dr. Richard J. Davidson

I admit it. I’m a neuroscience junkie. The plasticity of the brain – its ability to be shaped by thought – is pure mind-bending excitement for me. So I eagerly await the mind/brain topics that highlight for me this weekend and next.

Tonight at The Rubin Museum of Art is a screening of Free the Mind (2012) a film in which leading neuroscientist Richard J. Davidson sets out to discover if and how the brain might be physically altered using only the power of thought.  The test cases include a 5-year-old suffering from ADHD and veterans coping with PTSD. Promo materials tell me he poses two fundamental questions: What really is consciousness, and how does it manifest in the brain and body? And is it possible to physically change the brain solely through mental practices? (Spoiler Alert: By studying Buddhist monks, Davidson has found it is possible to rewire your brain through meditation.)

Next Saturday night rockers The Amygdaloids – scientists by day who shed their scientific garb by night – take the stage for the Second Annual Heavy MeNtal Variety Show, presented by the Helix Center for Interdisciplinary Investigation. The band will play original songs on the mind-body problem, memory, emotion and unconscious processes.  Each suite will be preceded by a short, three-minute talk on the scientific or philosophical foundations of the topic by lead singer/neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux. (Here’s a video in which NYU’s LeDoux interviews colleague Ned Block on the nature of consciousness, from Scientific American online. At 11:30, the interview segues into The Amygdaloids’ music video of My Mind’s Eye.)

May you be equally powered by thought and transformed by fun!

Related Posts:

The bounce-back quality pops up again. (4/29/11)

Do you already have the brain of a leader? (9/24/10)

Image courtesy of The Amygdaloids

 

 

 

 

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The physics of trust and engagement.

March 1st, 2013

Pink Trust

Just as quantum entanglement – what Einstein referred to as “spooky action at a distance” – was verified experimentally and recognized as a fundamental of quantum mechanics, so has the relationship of engagement and trust been linked inextricably to the success of an organization. And powerful evidence of the trust-engagement relationship has never been more clear and irrefutable.

If you were unable to attend the free webinar last week by Stephen M.R. Covey and Greg Link, titled Toxic Teams Kill Engagement, you can enjoy a replay of the audio presentation here. Whether you work in business, government or the non-profit world, I think the introduction alone is worth your time. Listen in how engaged organizations outperform in every area and how trust is the key driver to moving the needle on engagement scores.

At the very least, check out Covey’s list of The 13 Behaviors of a High Trust Leader. I’m confident it’s a document you’ll want to print out, memorize and act on.

Image courtesy of Janaka Dharmasena at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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The antidote to a crisis in leadership: Trust.

February 15th, 2013

TRUST blocks falling

I have a suggestion for you. Sign up for a free webinar offered Tuesday, Feb. 21st with business partners and Smart Trust co-authors Stephen M. R. Covey and Greg Link. Here’s why.

On the eve of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Edelman launched its thirteenth Trust Barometer, a global study that explored levels of trust across 26 markets and diverse industry sectors. Among its findings: Only 15% of people in the U.S. believe business leaders will tell the truth with confronted with a difficult issue.

Trust is the ultimate leadership skill and the igniter of that fireball of energy, focus and commitment that’s critical to the success of any organization: employee engagement.

According to Covey and Link, low trust causes toxic teams, and toxic teams kill employee engagement. Their own data, published in Smart Trust, show that a 10% increase in trust has the same impact on employees as a 36% increase pay.

Join the conversation on the 21st. And feel free to submit your own questions for discussion. A little trust can change everything.

Related posts:

Happier people work harder. (Sept. 9, 2011)

Trust: the ultimate skill. (Sept. 14, 2012)

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The power of thought redux.

January 28th, 2013

My first post about discovering the unlimited possibilities of the mind back in August, 2010 featured the mischievous magpies Heckle and Jeckle in The Power of Thought. Last week, thanks to AsapScience co-creators Mitchell Moffit and Gregory Brown, I found another two-minute piece of clever animation that addresses the brain’s integration of imagination and action head on. You won’t want to miss The Scientific Power of Thought.

Image courtesy of MR LIGHTMAN at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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The future is yours.

January 4th, 2013

“You can’t let the future happen to you. You have to take action.” – Brian David Johnson, in-house futurist at Intel

That’s right. Intel has a futurist on staff. I learned about Brian David Johnson while reading Adam Bluestein’s special report on the game-changing trends and hot markets of 2013 that appears in this month’s issue of Inc. magazine. Johnson’s advice for companies that want to get a handle on future markets, but don’t have the resources for a futurist made me laugh: Get a 13-year-old mentor. But right under that quote I drew a star next to his thoughts on how to think about the future. He says the future is ours. We own it. And we get to shape it by thinking about and visualizing the world we want.

His words rungs true for me. Nothing happens until we first think about it. It’s our intention, focus and enthusiasm for how we want things to be that triggers our energy for action.

You know things will change. The challenge and fun is to start imagining how you want them to change. And as a new study reported on in yesterday’s New York Times “Science” pages suggests, you needn’t underestimate the you of the future, either.

 

Image courtesy of imagerymajestic at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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