zingzoneWhen John Williams first played his ominous two-note “shark theme” score on a piano, Jaws director Steven Spielberg laughed because he thought the composer was joking with him. But Williams didn’t give up on the idea. He kept encouraging
Pure, painful panic often occurs right before a presentation, when a presenter realizes all eyes and ears are about to be focused on them. Fire alarms go off in the brain. Stress hormones cause sweaty palms and racing heartbeats.
Deepak Chopra recently spent two weeks on a “monk’s journey” in Thailand. The author shaved his head and walked barefoot through neighboring villages begging for alms. After a few days, a monk asked Chopra how he was doing. “Walking
Creativity can’t stand a struggle. So give your brain a break. In writings and talks, I frequently emphasize the value of taking breaks. In fact, pausing (which I label “Exhale,”) is dead center in my five-step creative process: Explore
“Emotion Lotion” is what composer Quincy Jones calls music he creates to add moods and feelings to films. I’m not suggesting you add soundtracks to presentations. But I do recommend adding Emotion Lotion in the form of stories and
“The most important conversations I have are the ones I have with myself.” George Raveling, the legendary basketball coach, made the above statement while discussing the impact self-talk can have on attitudes and actions. I often cite
When landscape architect Jens Jensen was creating the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago, workers constructing the waterfall could not seem to build it the way Jensen envisioned. “It’s supposed to be a prairie waterfall, not a mountain cascade,” he
Over the years, I’ve seen two or three copies of the above letter posted in creative workplaces. But I never knew its origins until I came across it recently while meandering my way through Letters of Note (an excellent
My wife needed to return a pair of shoes to Zappos, the on-line shoe retailer known for its customer service. A return label was surprisingly not included with the order, so she emailed Zappos and asked for one. Here’s
Here’s a little history lesson that has plenty of present-day applications. President James Garfield was shot in 1881 but held on for 80 days before dying. During those days, Americans kept hoping Garfield would somehow survive, because few folks