LESSON 6 BRAIN TRAINING TECHNIQUES 5 Brain Training Techniques to Cultivate Your Creative Genius Brain science reveals creativity is just as much a skill you can develop as it is a gift to be thankful for. By Deep Patel June 28, 2017 Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The ingenious inventor, the savvy entrepreneur, the innovative scientist, the imaginative writer… No matter what our field or area of expertise, we all seek to be more creative and innovative. We all want to be original. ADVERTISING Martin Barraud | Getty Images Many of us regard creativity as an awe-inspiring, almost magical gift that some people are simply born with. But just as creativity can be expressed in many different ways, it can also be learned and sharpened like any other skill. In the modern world, there is no room for the humdrum or mundane. A clever and inventive mind opens doors to success. Here are five ingenious ways you can begin training your mind to be more creative and innovative. 1. Seek to use both sides of your brain. Don’t fall for the myth that right-brained people are more creative while left-brained people are more analytical. True creativity comes from using both sides of your brain. The most imaginative ideas must be logical and rational in order to work. The most scientific and analytical of approaches must still be unique, thoughtful and ingenious. Roger Sperry’s research into his split-brain hypothesis in the 1960s showed that some activities, such as spatial reasoning and appreciation of beauty, stimulate the right hemisphere of the brain, while things like analytical thinking and language stimulate the left hemisphere. But creativity requires a whole-brained approach because it requires lateral thinking, or thinking about things in new ways. When we “think outside the box,” we devise fresh approaches to solving problems and meeting challenges. Work to build your whole brain by using both right and left sides. Try juggling or doing origami, or just do daily activities like writing your name or brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Start looking at things differently -- literally -- by wearing your watch upside down or using your phone upside down. Try writing backward: it worked for Leonardo da Vinci, who wrote his notes in “mirror writing.” Related: Surprising Truths About the Left and Right Halves of Your Brain (Infographic) 2. Cultivate a thirst for knowledge. A lifelong thirst for knowledge will fuel your creativity. A thoughtful and intelligent mind demands a constant flow of information. By continually learning and growing, you feed your mind with ideas and expand your thinking. Seek to be broad-minded and open to new concepts and approaches. This includes being willing to try different ideas and not just dismissing something you disagree with out of hand. Communication isn’t a one-way street. It means being willing to question everything, to keep yourself motivated and curious about the world around you. Work to develop both vertical knowledge, which is a deep dive into a particular topic, and horizontal knowledge, which means having a solid amount of understanding in a wide variety of fields. Having a broad range of knowledge in different areas will give you the background to pull new ideas from. But being deeply familiar with one area will give you the insight necessary to innovate within that field. Related: Why You Should Strive to Be a Lifelong Learner 3. Explain things back to yourself. Being creative also requires that you understand the information you have been given. It’s one thing to read a book and study a subject, but it’s another thing entirely to be able to explain that topic to someone else (or yourself). Being able to explain new knowledge shows that you have processed and internalized the information on a deeper level. If you can explain something back to yourself, you can also expand on it, reshape it in your own unique vision or integrate your own ideas. You can follow threads of ideas and create new concepts. To be a good explainer requires you be a good listener. After all, you can’t fully absorb and retain information if you haven’t really heard what has been said. Get in the habit of explaining things back to yourself to further solidify knowledge. This process can also help you think through areas that may be improved, which will boost your ability to brainstorm and build on concepts. Related: 7 Hobbies Science Says Will Make You Smarter 4. Take breaks to “switch on” your creative side. Have you ever been hard at work at a task that required problem-solving, feeling like you're on a roll, only to realize later your ideas were mostly redundant and uninspired? According to Harvard Business Review, our natural inclination is to keep working on a problem even when we aren’t making headway. When working on an idea that requires creativity, we often reach a dead end without realizing it. Research shows that it’s crucial to take breaks at regular intervals to give your mind a chance to refresh. Set a timer, and when it goes off, switch tasks. Do something else for a while, and then return to your original task. Doing this will help you switch on your creativity and keep your problem-solving productive and innovative. If you’re having trouble, try approaching a problem from a different perspective. It may help to work backward, starting with the solution, or to turn a problem on its head and conceptualize it from a different angle. Related: How to Train Your Creative Mind 5. Let your imagination run wild. One of the best things you can do to hone your creativity is to tap into the natural imaginativeness and ingenuity that you had as a child. We loved to play and pretend as kids. We learned how to create imaginary worlds where anything was possible. We enjoyed challenging ourselves with games and tests of skill. Give yourself time to let your mind wander, to explore, to daydream, and then use the ideas that surface as part of your brainstorming. Challenge yourself with creative exercises, such as doodling in a sketchbook or writing flash fiction. Keep a journal of your ideas, however fantastical or impractical they might be. Giving your mind time to dream and problem-solve is a great way to build your creative muscle. If you cultivate a mind that is imaginative, open to all possibilities, balanced, full of knowledge and refreshed frequently, your genius and creativity will start to flourish. LESSON 7 Eight Important Mental Shifts You Should Make Immediately Mindset Shifts Entrepreneurs Must Make to Achieve Their Ultimate Goal Success is all about the right mindset, as these tips will hopefully prove. By Deep Patel August 23, 2019 Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Change of any kind starts internally, within the mind. If you want to alter your life, whether in big or small ways, you first have to adapt your mindset. The best way to liberate yourself from old ways of thinking is to shift your perspective on situations and become more innovative in your approaches. Shannon Fagan | Getty Images If you’re ready to change and enhance your life, here are eight important mental shifts you should make immediately. 1. The mindset to live with intention Most people don’t wander through life, haphazardly finding employment and forming relationships, without any real sense of what their potential is or what they are hoping to do with their life. If you want to live your best life, you have to act with intention and be willing to sustain your effort and motivation over the long haul. You have to believe you have it in you to create your best life. In everything you do, ask yourself: Does this help me build the kind of life I want to live? Once you make this shift, you will be empowered to pull yourself away from things that pointlessly suck your time, energy and finances. Focus on what you need to do to create your best reality and start living happily and prosperously. 2. Own your power Everyone has a source of inner power that fuels them. It’s the strength you draw from to overcome obstacles. But most of us aren’t really aware of what makes us powerful or how we can wield our abilities most effectively. The problem is that we don’t tend to see ourselves as capable, dynamic, forceful or influential. We dwell on our faults and mistakes, and this diminishes us. Eventually, we let our power slip away. Spend some time reconnecting with yourself and acknowledging your limiting beliefs. What if you banished them? Own your power by understanding what lights you up. What gives you a thrill? What do you feel passionate about? Hold on to those things. Continually envision yourself as the badass you know you are. Related: Creative Mindset Shifts You Can Learn from Richard Branson 3. Focus on quality over quantity Learn to keep things simple by focusing on quality over quantity. By doing this, you’ll ultimately get more bang for your buck. This mental shift keeps you concentrated on using your resources wisely, so you’ll carefully and thoughtfully guard your time, money and mental and physical energy. Quality has more to do with depth, such as ensuring a task or goal is entirely completed, which usually leads to better results. For example, if you’re selective about who you hire, you’ll get quality workers who are a better fit with your business and your team. By being thoughtful about what projects you undertake, you'll focus on areas that you have expertise in; this is where you will naturally thrive and excel. Thus, you have a better chance of not only standing out for your exceptional work but also building your reputation and continuing to propel your business as a whole. 4. Give value to others and stop being self-centered Helping others isn’t just a nice thing to do. When you help others, you also gain in return. After all, while giving leads to getting, more importantly, it leads to personal growth and feeling good. The first step in giving value to others is to stop being self-centered. Practice taking a real interest in others, and be authentic in your dealings with other people. Recognize that it’s not all about you. Stop focusing so much on how people react toward you, and you'll stop taking things so personally. This will allow you to stop reacting -- and overreacting -- to things. Nothing is as mind-broadening as allowing yourself to really see the world from another person’s perspective. When you focus on the value you give to others, you start seeing other people’s needs more clearly. 5. Understand your worth Nothing will cast you in a negative light faster than a “woe is me” mentality. People see you through the lens of how you project yourself. The energy, confidence and attitude you bring with you are key in projecting yourself as someone who is self-assured and upbeat. As such, never underestimate your value and worth. This isn’t just about your credentials, education and experience (though those things are great). Rather, it’s about your ability to show the world how awesome you are in your everyday dealings with others. Every interaction is a chance to show exactly what you have to bring to the table, and exactly why you stand out from the rest. You have to appreciate and fully utilize every bit of your talent and mojo. Find your inner grit, hone your savvy and embrace your worth. Be in control of you. 6. Think and act big Great success comes when you’re inspired and go after what you want. But, like most things in life, there are levels to this. You may feel inspired but too scared to fully embrace your passion. You may be heading in the right direction, but are too reserved. If that’s the case, even if you manage to attain your goal, you’ll never feel the sense of triumph you might have with more fearlessness. Stop being “business as usual.” Step one: Banish the phrase “We’ve never done it like this before.” Instead, ask yourself how you can act bigger. How can you go beyond? What is the next level you’re hoping to reach? That is where you’re aiming. Stop allowing old patterns of thoughts, fears and archaic beliefs to hold you back. Embrace bigger thinking. Related: 12 Signs You Have an Entrepreneurial Mindset 7. See failure as a necessary step toward success Failure is an absolute necessity for success, but the trick is that failure is also all about how you frame it. Instead of seeing it as a fault you can never live down, recognize that failure isn’t personal. Your approach failed, and mistakes were made. You, as a person, didn’t fail. Don’t allow your ego to blind you to the lessons you need to learn. Analyze the problem that led to the mistake. Where did you go wrong? Allow yourself to fine-tune a problem and see how it can be fixed. What path could you have taken to get a different result? Learn how not to make those same mistakes again. Most importantly, learn to move on. 8. Focus on your “why.” Take a moment and ask yourself: “Why do I do what I do?” Understanding your “why” will inform your purpose and help you tap into your deeper motivations. This is key to understanding how to achieve the things you really want in life. Why do you focus on the things you do? At the end of the day, are you fulfilled by what you’re doing? Is your focus leading to success you feel good about? If not, you don’t have the right “why.” When you’re feeling lost in the weeds, uncertain about the next steps to take in business or in life, you can always come back to the “why.” It will act as an internal compass, always pointing to your own due north.
