Improv workshop
I stumbled upon an improv workshop this evening, run by Just Add Water. The company’s focus is to use theater, improve and role-play to improve understanding of human dynamics and solve organizational issues in the workplace. The 4 C’s of Improvisation: Consistency: Accepting the reality your partner creates. Context: Building on the reality in the context of the scene. Cooperation: …
Learn by doing
The best way to learn something is by doing it… a lot of it. The more I paint, the more my pictures start to look better than a 3-year old with finger-paint. A large stumbling block in learning new skills is the belief that we need perfect results, and we’re not good enough. Only, skills don’t magically appear… you’ve got …
Alexander Oscar Bamberg
Today I am in celebration over my sister (and her husband)’s new bouncing baby boy, Alexander Oscar Bamberg. And, in this ultimate act of creation, I have become an uncle without so much as lifting a finger – even though I am some 4,867 miles away. Now, that’s a miracle. Congratulations and best wishes to the Bamberg family.
Shifting perspectives
We never have all the information about the reality that surrounds us. Our reality can shift in an instant with the smallest piece information. Take the following story: You are riding on a bus. In front of you are two kids being very loud & obnoxious, jumping around and acting out of control (not in a cute kid way either, …
Alternate Reality Excercise
The latest exercise from Prof. Rao’s Creativity & Personal Mastery course is about shifting your perspective of reality.The reality that we construct for ourselves is based on the limited information we receive through our experiences. So if something in your world is not working for you, why not change it?Here is what you can do: Pick an area of your …
Ideas Workshop: Randomness
I missed this week’s workshop due to a random unplanned business trip. Fortunately, my colleage Nick Wai filled me in on the random calendar exercise: To build a calendar with a random word for each day (ie. have fun flipping through the dictionary.) Then, incorporate each day’s word into a daily theme of something to vary in your day. For …
Room Transformation Project: Update 4
The bland white space still holds a majority stakehold, but the project is beginning to have an effect. My habit of staring blankly at the blank wall while lying in bed is already enriched by these few colorful paintings. It occurred to me though, that the largest source of bland white space in my room is the ceiling. This project …
Exploring playfulness
When I am highly creative, my mood is playful: I am engaged and having fun, exploring ideas to solve the problem at hand.When it comes to business, I have the mental model that work is supposed to be “serious” and “professional” – and I act accordingly. If I accept this model, I limit myself from fully expressing this creative value …
Randomness in art
Painting is a very educational experience of creating. A picture starts out as a blank sheet of paper, and then is slowly built up. Mistakes can be wiped away and painted over, creating unimagined effects.
Mind-chatter exercise
Creativity & Personal Mastery has started again. This week’s exercise is to record our mind-chatter throughout the day. It is a very powerful reminder of how unproductive our thoughts can be. The objective is not to get rid of the mind-chatter, just to observe it. A brilliant example of how useless mind-chatter can be: I purchased a power-cord for my …