Category: Productivity

4 Essential (and Overlooked) Facts About Your Brain and Your Mind

Brain fitness for fun and profit…and survival and creativity and…but you get it, right?

Brain.LarryBrodyby Alvaro Fernandez

“Our brains and minds are far from set in stone due to genet­ics or age. Grow­ing evi­dence sug­gests beyond a rea­son­able doubt that what we do at every sin­gle day has an impact on brain fit­ness that very same day and also later in life.”

 An aspir­ing clar­inetist begins by get­ting a sense of the way the instrument’s sounds are pro­duced by the air she blows through it. A dri­ver must be acquainted with var­i­ous vehi­cle fun­da­men­tals, such as adding gas, accel­er­at­ing, and read­ing the speedome­ter. It is no dif­fer­ent with the brain. Max­i­miz­ing your brain’s health and per­for­mance begins with a basic under­stand­ing of how it works and how it evolves across the lifespan. read article

Hephaestus and How Brokenness Contributes to Creativity

Now that’s a title! We love the idea of pounding down the home stretch of 2014 with some Greek god lovin’:

hephaestus-satyr_002_610_300_s_c1_center_centerby Allison Stieger

In examining the world’s myths for clues to creativity and living a more creative life, it can be helpful to look at the archetypal qualities of gods and goddesses from different cultures, and how the creative impulse manifests itself in the stories of those gods. I’ve recently spent some time with the Greek god Hephaestus, and I’ve come to believe that he has, in his myths, some interesting things to teach us about how to use all the parts of ourselves, the whole and the broken, in bringing new ideas into the world.

Hephaestus is the god of the forge for the Greeks, of metalworking and fire, particularly volcanic fire. He is known as Vulcan to the Romans, and his name is used as a synonym for fire by both Greek and Roman poets, particularly fire in service of the creation of art. His origin story is told differently by different poets. He is either the son of both Hera and Zeus, or is the son of only Hera, a retaliation for the solitary birth of Athena from Zeus’ head. In any story about Hephaestus, however, he is lame. He becomes lame by being thrown from Mount Olympus, and he is often shown in later myths or mythic images being supported in some way. read article

Why Real Jobs Suck if You’re Creative

It’s all a matter of “time,” fellow creatives. Read it and weep, brothers and sisters:

clockwatching

Why the 9-to-5 Day Is So Tough on Creative Workers
by Lauren Davidson

Today, workers are putting in increasingly more hours—so much so that the 40-hour week has become a relic of the past. But pushing employees to clock up those extra hours is bad for their well-being and detrimental to your company. read article

Ricky Gervais: Be a Cocky Little Nobody

Fucking-i rresisti-fucking-ble:

by Ricky Gervais

Whenever I’m asked that standard question, “What advice would you give to someone who wants success like yours,” I say “work hard, be original and write about what you know” (I’m always tempted to add “and get final edit” but I’m aware that this is very difficult starting out, and that I’m an incredibly rare case to have always been afforded this privilege.)

gervaisThe first, “work hard,” is not only the most important, but actually, essential. I believe that if you didn’t have to work for something, it can’t truly be considered success. Luck doesn’t count. I think success is allowed a certain pride and you can’t be proud of luck or even of being born smart, artistic, or talented. It’s what you do with it that counts. I think I learnt this lesson relatively late in life. I was one of those people who would pride themselves on getting results without trying too hard. Passing exams without revising too much. I realize now, that was the wrong attitude. You should always try your hardest. The Office was the first thing I really tried my hardest at. I don’t know why I started this radical new approach then, but I think it was one of those carpe diem type revelations. I came into the industry with a slightly older head on my shoulders than most and maybe deep down knew I shouldn’t blow the opportunity. I put everything into it. A lifetime of experiences, and I couldn’t have been prouder of the results. I don’t even mean the success of the show, but simply the finished product. I was the laziest man in the world before I made The Office but now I’m addicted to that sort of success. Pride in my work. Now I’m a workaholic, because I realize that the hard work is sort of a reward in itself. Winston Churchill said, “If you find a job you really love, you’ll never work again.” That’s what it feels like most of the time. I love it so it’s less like work and more like play. Although I’m a strong believer that creativity is the ability to play. read article