I have never been able to meditate in the sitting-crosslegged-on-a-cushion sort of way; I am way too fidgety and my muscles cramp up. I can, however, achieve that same quietness of mind through repetitive movement. Running, hiking, paddling can get me there. So can doodling, moving a pen or brush across paper without a specific […]
Tag Archives: Play
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No one reads a comic strip because it’s drawn well. They read it because it makes them laugh! When I give a presentation about visual thinking tools, I ask folks to “raise your hand if you can draw.” Very few hands go up. If I asked that question in a kindergarten class, EVERY hand would […]
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These two M words crashed together in my mind as I lay pondering the meaning of the universe one recent night. I’d been working on a presentation about motivation for a local Toastmasters chapter on the same day that I’d had a meeting with the president of another association of which I am a member. […]
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When we try to improve or invent a product or process, we often get stuck in negativity: “Oh, no that won’t work!” Part of the problem is that we need to separate out IDEATION from EVALUATION. These are two different mental processes, using our right and left brain hemispheres, and we can’t do them both […]
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I was really tickled to come across this list of Improv Tricks That Will Make You a Better Business Person. One of my declarations – “Don’t work at it, play with it!” – comes from the life lessons I’ve learned from years of studying, practicing, performing,and teaching improv. Stop for a moment and think of […]
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Art Every Day Month was obviously on my mind as I perused the new titles at Northlight Books yesterday. I picked up a copy of Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun by Carla Sonheim. It is chock-full of drawing exercises and games, structures to help you loosen up and […]
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In 2004, Massachussetts artist Leah Piken Kolidas declared November to be Art Every Day Month. I absolutely LOVE this idea (even though I’m already three or four days behind)! For awhile I have been feeling that I need more structure and discipline in order to improve my drawing. My “happiness guru,” Gretchen Rubin, states that […]
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>Garr Reynolds (author of Presentation Zen, one of my favorite books) has compiled some great thoughts, images, and video snippets on the importance of play.
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>I spent Saturday in a workshop on Kinesthetic Modeling (KM), a right-brain, hands-on, 3-D facilitation tool. Like a child with a new toy or a craftsperson with a new tool, I am itching to play with it some more! I first heard of KM from my colleagues Andrea Saveri and Leslie Salmon-Zhu; we used it […]
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>Whether you are an entrepreneur promoting your business or an activist promoting a cause, success depends upon the ability to present your message with confidence and ease. Memorizing speeches or preparing PowerPoint slides can only take you so far. When you run into a potential lead or client in an unexpected place and time, you […]