Book Read - Imagine: How Creativity Works

I just finished a book last week that has made me think so intently that I am ready to pick it back up again.

Here's a description from the book - 

Did you know that the most creative companies have centralized bathrooms? That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help you double your creative output?

From the New York Times best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,” Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively.

Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.

You’ll learn about Bob Dylan’s writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. You’ll meet a Manhattan bartender who thinks like a chemist, and an autistic surfer who invented an entirely new surfing move. You’ll see why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar’s office space is designed to spark the next big leap in animation.

Collapsing the layers separating the neuron from the finished symphony, Imagine reveals the deep inventiveness of the human mind, and its essential role in our increasingly complex world.

 http://www.jonahlehrer.com/ 

Disclaimer: It's got a few curse words, but the principles are great, if that helps you make a more informed decision.

Global Leadership Summit by Willow Creek

Angie and I got the opportunity to attend the Global Leadership Summit put on by the Willow Creek Church outside of Chicago.  We didn't have to go to Chicago though, they use satellite locations all around the globe, including close to 200 in the states.  Our location was at First Baptist in Owasso, Oklahoma.  It's a city about 10 minutes from Tulsa.  There were around 31 attenders from our church alone.  It was a great two day event, but our favorite session was called "The Land Between" by Jeff Manion.  You can pick up the book at Amazon.  Just follow this link! 

The book and session follow the premise of going from one "place" to another in our lives.  The time that takes place between those "places" is called The Land Between.  It's initial idea comes from the story of the Israelites, going from the land of slavery in Egypt to the land of promise in Canaan (near the Dead Sea).  That time period for them and for us is fertile, even though it is in the desert.  On one hand, it is fertile for complaints, on the other it is fertile for transformational growth.  It depends on what choices you make during this 'time' on who you will be when you arrive at your next destination.  We bought the book and I am already a couple chapters into it.  If you are looking for a good book to help you through a difficult transition, this seems to be it.  I'll let you know once I finish reading it.