The Heart of Innovation: 20 Qualities of an Innovator

Great reference piece - -

The Heart of Innovation: 20 Qualities of an Innovator

The Heart of Innovation: 20 Qualities of an Innovator

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

I originally saw this a while ago - Very enlightening!!

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity | Video on TED.com

Facebook 101 Business Guide | Social Media Examiner

Soup to Nuts on getting started using Facebook.

Facebook 101 Business Guide | Social Media Examiner

Facebook 101 Business Guide | Social Media Examiner

The Heart of Innovation: 20 Reasons Why Many People Get Their Best Ideas in the Shower

I have always been one of those who gets their best ideas in the shower (and while making the bed.) Now I know why?

The Heart of Innovation: 20 Reasons Why Many People Get Their Best Ideas in the Shower

The Heart of Innovation: 20 Reasons Why Many People Get Their Best Ideas in the Shower

Create a Culture of Successful Failure

Just came across this article which closely follows my earlier piece on Success and Failure.

http://www.business-strategy-innovation.com/wordpress/2010/05/create-a-culture-of-successfull-failure

What are your thoughts on success and failure?

Create a Culture of Successful Failure

Success and Failure

Like most words, success and failure carry with them a wildly diverse assortment of meanings. For many, success is only seen as Olympic gold, Best Sellers' Lists or Awards for Outstanding Achievement. In the western world, success is typically equated with big homes, fancy cars, stock portfolios, etc., ergo, the phrase Status Symbols.

Conversely, failure is most often construed as the antithesis of the former. Not only does it reflect NOT achieving the desired goal, but likely would also include evidence of lack and limitation. It’s as though you took a 180° shift and simply added the word NOT to the earlier achievements.

When I first came up with the idea for my company CreativeSuccessWorks back in '04, one of the things that became clear to me was that with regard to creativity, success or the lack thereof, was a primarily a matter of personal viewpoint. Now, I’m broadening that perspective to include the idea of success in any arena.

Think about this for a moment - - What if success were looked at as merely any movement in the direction of a goal and "failure" was merely a stumble, a wrinkle or temporary backslide. Paulo Coelho, author of the highly-acclaimed book, The Alchemist, has said that "success is falling seven times and getting up eight."

This theme also brings to mind Thomas Edison's response when asked what he had to say about his 9999 failures at attempting to invent the light bulb. Edison's reply was along the lines of  "Those weren't failures, I just learned 9999 ways NOT to make a light bulb."

Abraham Lincoln is another great example. Neither bankruptcy, mental illness or numerous failed attempts at achieving public office, thwarted Lincoln. He just kept moving forward. The result, of course, speaks for itself.

Like most people, I have had my own fair share of successes and failures. On one occasion, I had a scheduled book signing at Borders on a Saturday afternoon. After standing at the front door for 3 hours, greeting shoppers and handing out postcards, I had not sold one book.

Now despite the fact that I had had a huge success only a few weeks earlier where I had sold 100 copies of the book to a single organization, the Borders’ "failure" really knocked me for a loop. Self-doubt and negative thoughts engulfed me, and I began a downward emotional spiral.

But the episode drove me to examine what others had to say about success and failure. I began by looking up quotations on failure and in every case, I discovered that the ONLY true failure is to have given up or never to have tried in the first place. 

Thomas J. Watson, founder of IBM, summed it up beautifully when he said, "Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't that at all. You can be discouraged by failure -- or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember, that's where you will find success."

Curiously enough, the next thing I knew my mood had lifted and the blues were gone. What I concluded was that the success or failure of our lives is determined by our attitude and our point of view.

So, in closing, I'll leave you with my personal recommendation for a life filled with success - - "Fail On!"

Success and Failure

Movie Genius

These seven movie clips not only exemplify the genius of the actors, but also the power that film has to impact and influence our culture. Movies have the ability to do much more than entertain!

http://www.spike.com/blog/top-seven-classic/91367?page=1&numPerPage=1

Movie Genius