PLEASE READ “IMAGINE: HOW CREATIVITY WORKS” by Jonah Lehrer

Imagine: How Creativity Works

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Jonah Lehrer

Tuesday evening 04.10.12 at 7

Greetings All,

Is “creativity” your missing ingredient to success?” Just what is that and how do you get it? Is it in your DNA, the stars, or totally random luck? Is it a gift for merely the chosen few or is it a learnable trait available to the masses? Jonah Lehrer proclaims that creativity is much more about hard work, perseverance, and dedication to not giving up during the tough times. And Lehrer should know. He is used to looking at things from unique angles and with a unique approach of combining journalistic, entertainer, and scientific skills. In some ways the book disappointed me as I was hoping for some magic potion or sacred pathway to enlightenment. Whether you instantly recognize his name or not you have probably been exposed to Lehrer in a number of forums. He is prominently upon the pages of Wired, WSJ, Scientific American Mind, Boston Globe, others and on NPR’s Radiolab.

This book may offer far more than Jonah Lehrer even realizes in helping find both personal and global solutions as it percolates outward. Lehrer states “Every creative journey begins with a problem.” In that simple statement resides both the blessing and the curse of the need for creativity. While society loudly celebrates the breakthroughs it often ignores or downplays the long, twisted, at times painful and at other times playful path that lead to the “Eureka!” moment. Staid thinking and personal bias also cloud our willingness to explore or even consider alternative answers.  Fans of either Doug Hall or “Harold and the Purple Crayon” will love this book.

Even the sentence structure in this work has a refined tone reminiscent of a fine novel with delicate flavorings of poetry and prose, rarely found in nonfiction. I confess! I have read this book too fast as it tickles the mind and make you gulp it down like a novice at their first wine tasting. I will have to return to every page and sip it properly. Perhaps I will do this it while partaking of one of the bacon-infused cocktails mentioned within chapter five.  Cheers to “Imagine: How Creativity Works.”

“Imagine” for Discussion:

• Have you hit your “wall or impasse?”
• Can you admit and embrace your “problem and frustration?”
• What do you really mean when you say that you are “stumped?”
• Have you ever experienced a “Eureka!” moment?
• How does “creativity” happen? How do we reach an understanding?
• Can different colors influence creativity?
• What does “collaboration” have to do with it?
• Why does Proctor and Gamble clean-up in the “creativity” zone?
• How do we sabotage our own genius?
• What do puzzles illustrate about being puzzled- or not?
• Why does the “epiphany” sometimes come after you have given-up?
• What role does “anger” play in creativity? Good or bad? (Hint: Page 161)

 “Always carry a light bulb.”  —Bob Dylan

“Creativity is the residue of wasted time.” — Albert Einstein

“The struggle of maturity is to recover the seriousness of a child at play” — Frederic Nietzsche

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

Can you learn "creativity?"

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

GUY LARAMEE BOOK SCULPTURES- Epic-Book-Landscape-Carving-Artwork-9
NOW THIS IS CREATIVITY!!!

Machiavelli Modernized: “The Secret Handshake” by Kathleen Kelly Readon

The Secret Handshake: Mastering the Politics of the Business Inner Circle

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Kathleen Kelly Reardon

Tuesday evening 04.03.12 at 7

Greetings All,

Do you know “The Secret Handshake?”  You don’t believe there is such a thing? Hear of anybody getting a significant position because of their fabulous resume or cover letter? Was it really their superb interviewing skills that blew all the competition away? Did they get the real job because they had hidden away keywords in white ink in their application or online documents? Did they get lucky on Twitter Friday or because they just came cheap? Are you getting where and what you want with “proper channels?” Kathleen Kelly Reardon has content that you need to hear if you are playing in the arena today.

Kathleen Kelly Reardon, Ph.D., joins (and in some ways upstages) Niccolo Machiavelli in communicating that it is all politics and networking. Actually Reardon would most probably say that it is politics and more. Without the politics and the advocates you are left to the luck of the draw. Who you know and who they know as well as the quality and mechanics of those relationships is what will propel you. Reardon evidences guilt at Machiavelli’s “the end justifies the means” stance but in a murderously competitive marketplace shrewdness is demanded. Reardon detailed much of this earlier in another book titled “It’s All Politics: Winning in a World Where Hard Work and Talent Aren’t Enough.” Both choke full of excellent content.

This book may be some of the best weaponry and strategy available to you today. “May the odds be ever in your favor.” Don’t mistake anything for a game.

For a SHAKE at Discussion:

• Don’t “talent and hard work” count for anything today?
• What does all this have to do with job searching?
• What does all this have to do with sales or career posturing?
• What does all of this have to do with family, church or social ties?
• What are the “sanctioned rules?” Who decides?
• Can you see it? The hidden agenda?
• Can you see it? The hidden door and staircase?
• How do you gain access to the “inner circle?”
• Think that you are above “politics?”
• Are you a “persuader?” How?
• What makes “true players” different and powerful?
• Just how does one go about “cultivating influence?”
• Can you spot “hierarchies” that aren’t defined on the corporate chart?
• Influencing vs. manipulation? What’s your style?
• Are aspirations better kept hidden or declared? Why?
• What is meant by “political climate control?” Who sets?

“The Secret Handshake“ is like a crash course in Business Psychology 101 . . . Reardon writes crisply and to the point . . . You owe it to yourself to read her book.” —USA Today

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

Do you know "The Secret Handshake?"

 

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

The Transforming “Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Charles Duhigg

Tuesday evening 03.27.12 at 7

Greetings All,

Are your habits a help or a hindrance?  How does the word even make you feel? Hasn’t everything that could be said about habits already been said? Could your habits be refocused or altered for a dramatically different outcome? Where did your habits originate from? Were you born an early or late riser? What about smoking, liquor or even cussing? Do you shape and manipulate your habits or do they manipulate you? Do you have habits that you are barely aware of?

In “The Power of Habit” Charles Duhigg has penned a thoroughly entertaining read on the importance and pitfalls of habits. In a world that is demanding change and adaptation in so many areas this is a book that is hard to put down. And amusingly, the way that Duhigg explains them makes you wonder why you thought it was so hard or why you waited so long to tackle offing bad habits or fashioning new and productive ones. Properly read and implemented this could be a most worthwhile investment.

I’ll wrap up this review and invite as I think that it is cookie time for me. We hope that you join us. You don’t have to make it a habit.

For the “Habit” of Discussion:

• What do you really “crave?” Why are cravings important?
• “Transformation” must be driven by something! What drives you?
• What are some of your “cues, routines and rewards?”
• How have you tried to change habits in the past? Did it work?
• How might meaningful “habit design” be facilitated?
• What are “keystone habits” and why are they so important?
• What effect does “crises” have on your “habit patterns?”
• What do marketers know about you that you don’t?
• What habit(s) do you want to change?

“Charles Duhigg masterfully combines cutting-edge research and captivating stories to reveal how habits shape our lives and how we can shape our habits. Once you read this book, you’ll never look at yourself, your organization, or your world quite the same way.” —Daniel H. Pink

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

Habits! Are your habits helping you or hurting you?

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

Kiss That Frog!: 12 Great Ways to Turn Negatives into Positives in Your Life and Work

Kiss That Frog!: 12 Great Ways to Turn Negatives into Positives in Your Life and Work

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Brain Tracy and Christina Tracy Stein

Tuesday evening 03.20.12 at 7

Greetings All,

The last few years have been problematic for more than a few people. The old and offensive adage of turning lemons into lemonade is beyond trite. Yet, are there ways to effectively refocus? Is resentment, envy, depression, anger or other negative emotions blocking your success? Are negatives blocking your moving forward into new ventures? Emotions, attitudes and seemingly innocuous thoughts can sabotage us. Distortion can blind us.

Brian Tracy and his Daughter, Christina Tracy Stein, have serious credentials to speak to these issues. In this short and concise read they offer specific and uncomplicated strategies to move you to a better place. Brian Tracy is a speaker, consultant, executive coach and author that has logged thousands of miles over the globe presenting. Christina Tracy Stein is a psychotherapist, performance coach, and facilitator. Both are dedicated to helping others achieve their highest potential.

Take the leap and come on out for a ribbiting conversation.

“ Frog” Pad Points for PONDering:

• Do you consider yourself to be basically positive or negative in personality?
• If you had a magic wand what would you fix first?
• What is in your “gunnysack?”
• How much are lessons worth in terms of experience?
• What are your “extraordinary abilities?” Quick! 30 Seconds!
• How do you deal with “circumstances?”
• Can you “resist expressing negative emotions?” How?
• What is your “fire of desire?”
• Is there a “reason for everything?” Why?
• How do you “change the water in your pond?”
• What’s your “sunk cost?”
• Leaping into “Action is everything!”

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” – William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

A book to croak about!

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

“Awaken the Giant Within” Still Working Since 1991…

Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Destiny

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Anthony Robbins

Tuesday evening 03.13.12 at 7

Greetings All,

So we honored the introvert and discussed the amazing powers associated with them last week. We also agreed that those looking to push their careers forward and improve their game had probably best learn to shine as brightly as possible in the now. So we look now at the far opposite end of the spectrum and focus on Anthony Robbins. Tony is probably one of the most extroverted personal coaches alive today. Yet Mr. Robbins is not trying to turn everyone into a raving extrovert. He does believe that it is human nature to want to want “more” in the widest definition of “more.” In his “Unlimited Power” presentations he acknowledges that many may not feel like always expressing raving zeal and outward elation but that it is “still okay to feel good about yourself and to want more out of life.” This is not a new book; it has been in print continuously since 1991.

The ideas ensconced in “Awaken the Giant Within” are not vague and ethereal theories. They are reasonably conservative strategies marinated with a healthy dose of cheer-leading to elevate the attitude and enliven the heart. The audio versions are exquisite. This book has sold millions of copies and is available in many countries and languages. Robbins will not appeal to everyone and there is no shortage of gurus available. “Awaken the Giant Within” is possibly the best system for the individual that requires an ongoing relationship with an organization that can provide accountability, focus, and a wide variety of tools to choose from. The applause of fans easily drowns out his naysayers. His content is compelling and warrants careful consideration. He has been slow to write new books as he feels that “nobody reads books anymore” and he prefers the personal high of dealing directly with followers during workshops and conventions with the music cranked and the crowds dancing. A wide variety of videos are available as well.

Anthony Robbins declared to Larry King that “retooling is not an option in the world today.” What is an option is whether or not you embrace that change or writhe in resistance. The choice is yours. Personally, the ideas suggested by Tony challenge and intrigue me though I probably won’t be doing one of his fire walks.

“Giant” Points for Discussion:

• Do you have a “magnificent obsession?”
• What are “disempowering questions” and why would they be so?
• What is a “habitual vocabulary?” and is it good or bad?
• How do “incantations” differ from “affirmations?”
• How is “concentration of power” achieved and why?
• Do you much ponder “destiny?” Or lunch?
• How much “massive pain” is “massive pain?”
• What is meant by “personal compass?”
• Can you really “change anything?”
• Do “we all have dreams” as Robbins claims?
• Could you “optimize” your game or are you at your “peak?”
• How “habitual” is your life?
• How to you move into a “peak state?”
• What does it mean to “pattern interrupt?”
• Can you make huge differences with “tiny changes?”

“Somebody should tell us, right at the start of our lives, that we are dying. Then we might live life to the limit, every minute of every day. Do it! I say. Whatever you want to do, do it now! There are only so many tomorrows.”  - Michael Landon

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

Is there a "Giant" within you?

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

MUST READ! Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

Open Discussion on the Book Written by Susan Cain

Tuesday evening 03.06.12 at 7

Greetings All,

Is your natural inclination toward solitude and more cerebral “Quiet” activities? How does that impact your attainment of professional and personal goals? Are you not landing jobs, dates, or opportunities because of your quieter demeanor?  Especially in times of exceedingly tight competition your innate personal programming may be sabotaging you in tragic ways if you are not honoring and demonstrating your special traits. Trying to be something that you aren’t can be painful and debilitating, but what do you do in a world that glorifies those extroverts that always seem to be “ON?” Is there hope? Susan Cain knows that there are strategies that make you showcase in “Quiet” but meaningfully dramatic ways.

Susan Cain is an introvert that has forged a wonderfully elegant exploration of the introvert psyche and presents the information in a way that both honors and promotes one in the best possible light. Cain offers wonderful examples of known introverts that have helped sculpt and change our world. She also illuminates how you can tangibly alter your own interactions and bolster your success as well.  Susan Cain does an excellent job as an evangelist seeking to raise the marginalized status of the introvert to the respectable position that it deserves. The audiobook version of “Quiet” is absolutely captivating. The work thoroughly lacks the self-helpy flavor often associated with this type of text.

Susan Cain is an introvert that walks her talk in a “Quiet” way. This should be required reading for introverts and any extroverts that frequently interact with them.  It is not every day that a non-fiction book on introversion makes the top ten bestsellers.

Talking Points for a “Quiet” Chat:

• Have you ever felt compared to the “extrovert ideal?”
• What are the “advantages of being an introvert?”
• How is social media leveling the field between introverts and extroverts?
• Are “verbal fluency and sociability” really the two most important traits?
• Have you ever had to be a “pretend-extrovert?” Are you now?
• Do you consider yourself to be a “risk-taker” or “heed-taker?”
• How can introverts best showcase their attributes?
• What on earth is an “ambivert?”
• In your .pps of you what’s in your “take-away box?”
• How does “charisma” or “charisma” relate to success?
• How many great introverts can you name?
• Do you understand the difference between shyness and introversion?
• Are “talkers smarter?” Surveys indicate that they are perceived as such!
• Are insight and knowledge valued equally when packaged in a “Quiet” way?
• How can introverts best present themselves?
• How can extroverts help and benefit from collaborating with introverts?

“Susan Cain has done a superb job of sifting through decades of complex research on introversion, extraversion, and sensitivity. This book will be a boon for the many highly sensitive people who are also introverts.”
- Elaine Aron, author of “The Highly Sensitive Person.”

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

Are you a "closet introvert?"

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

 Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

There is no charge for $timulus!!!

 Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com

“Shake the World: It’s Not About Finding a Job, It’s About Creating a Life”

Shake the World: It’s Not About Finding a Job, It’s About Creating a Life

Open Discussion on the Book Written by James Marshall Reilly

Tuesday evening 02.28.12 at 7

Greetings All,

Is it really possible to “Shake the World?” Skepticism hangs over me like a wet and moldy shroud. Yes, there will always be exceptions to the rule that thrust far up through the storm clouds of the mundane reality and into the blinding sunshine above… but they may be the rare gifted, the blessed Illuminati. Many of the micro-profiles touted within are of young that have not had to stand the test and trials of time. My inner-cynic likewise yawns at the Pollyannaish desire to entwine profit-driven greed in pretty ribbons of global changing philanthropy topped with shiny bows of self-congratulatory exultations of fulfillment and gold-stars of do-gooderism. I will resist the temptation in insert a befitting happy-face emoticon.

James Marshall Reilly claims that is absolutely possible to “Shake the World” and he does run in the circles of many that have made big splashes with the ripples still expanding outward. A constipated economy whose stagnated career roads are littered with the fuming corpses of the displaced demands that one at least give a listen to those evangelizing entrepreneurs to rise up and create their own jobs. The directions included are sketchy at best. Reilly is convincingly smitten by those that he represents as president of The Guild Agency Speakers Bureau and Intellectual Talent Management. Somewhere here in the building-block rubble of buzzwords, hype, jargon and diarrhea of zing words the book does present an argument worth having, ambiguous though it is.

Perhaps if we cannot “Shake the World” we can at least Shake our Corner.

For a “SHAKE” at Discussion:

• Can you “Shake the World?” Today?
• What about when the world shakes back?
• Define “New-School Capitalism”
• What does it mean to “Breathe Your Fire?”
• Are you willing and able to become a “Disruptor?”
• Can anyone join “Generation Why-Not?” How?
• Can “experience” award you an MBA?
• Does “creating a life” pay enough to live on?
• You.org? You.com? You.biz? You.edu? What dot thingy would you be?

 

“If you aren’t keeping score you are simply practicing.” Doug Ulman CEO of Livestrong (A.K.A. Cheat To Win)

Join us, won’t you?

Monte

Can you really "Shake the World" in 2012?

$timulus: An Open Book and Networking Group

 Barnes & Noble in the Streets of West Chester

(I-75 Exit 19 Union Centre Blvd., Past The Rave Theater)

9455 Civic Centre Boulevard, West Chester, OH 45069

Every Tuesday evening at 7:00 P.M. (Weather Permitting)

FREE! There is no charge for $timulus!!!

 Monte at 513.769.6313 or montewashburn@gmail.com