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Ideas
Johnny Bunko, a Modern Day Superhero?
Last night at 11:31 pm I got into bed and decided to start, The Adventures of Johnny Bunko, by Dan Pink. I thought I would read a few pages before going to sleep. 50 minutes later I finished the book.
I highly recommend the book. It is obviously a quick read and imparts some important life lessons.
Background
For those who don’t know, Dan Pink is the man who wrote A Whole New Mind, a book about the type of mind sets that will be required in business in our global marketplace. He specifically focused on how the following influences business operations.
1. Abundance - consumers have too many choices, nothing is scarce
2. Asia - everything that can be outsourced, is
3. Automation - computerization, robots, processes
Pink then goes on to discuss the six senses that will keep you in demand:
1. Design - Moving beyond function to engage the sense.
2. Story - Narrative added to products and services - not just argument.
3. Symphony - Adding invention and big picture thinking
4. Empathy - Going beyond logic and engaging emotion and intuition.
5. Play - Bringing humor and light-heartedness to business and products.
6. Meaning - Immaterial feelings and values of products.
To Pink, these senses will provide a worker with the skills to succeed in today’s marketplace.
The Book
The Adventures of Johnny Bunko are a follow up to A Whole New Mind. In the book Pink uses the Japanese comic form known as Manga to focus on another 6 skills. The 6 skills Pink mentions are guiding principles to help someone understand what it takes to succeed in a world that is dominated by Abundance, Asia, and Automation. The 6 principles are as follows:
1. There is no plan
Follow your instincts, do not stick to a plan you created when you were in high school. Things have changed.
2. Think Strengths, Not Weaknesses
Your job should work to your strengths, do not do a job that focuses on what you don’t like to do.
3. It’s not about you
No matter what you do, whether you teach or you work in a business, the end product of your work is for someone else, it is not about your personal success.
4. Persistence trumps Talent
Remember the kid who was really good at lets say basketball, he could jump, was quick, and tall but only relied upon his natural gifts for success. You couldn’t jump, weren’t as fast, and not as tall but you practiced everyday. In the long run you probably were as good or better because of the efforts you put in to being a better basketball player. The same applies to work.
5. Make Excellent Mistakes
We will always make mistakes. Those who are so afraid of making mistakes will not try to push the limit or change. When our success now depends upon creativity and innovative thinking, taking risks and trying something, even if you might fail will pay off. You may not succeed every time but you will learn from those mistakes.
6. Leave an imprint
No matter if you are a teacher, a businessman/woman, or a politician, you can improve your world. Use your skills, we all have our strengths, to give back to your world. Whether it is community service, or pro bono work, make sure you do do what you can to leave your mark.
Conclusion
These are simple rules to follow. No matter what profession you are in, this is a great book to read. The book is visually stimulating, outlines some great career advice and is a quick read. Whether you are in a career that is satisfying or not, this book will help you understand what you need to do to better prepare yourself for an ideal career.
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Inspired Creative Writing
Writer’s Block
We’ve all found ourselves experiencing writers block and have struggled to overcome that mental collapse. Today I found a tool that will help with overcoming your lack of inspiration.
It is called Moodstream, it was created by Getty Images. Moodstream is an application that combines images and music. Based upon several different preset or personalized settings, the images and music are displayed to inspire and brainstorm for ideas. Moodstream perfect web application for creative inspiration when you are hitting a mental wall.
Classroom Application
In the classroom, Moodstream would be extremely useful as a writing prompt. If posted via a LCD projector the site would provide an excellent way to get your students to write about what feelings the images and music conjure. Rather than simply having one picture or one song, the preset wheel in Moodstream would provide a common theme that could inspire so many different ideas from your students.
photo credit: Moodstream
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