Torrance tests involve asking participants perform tasks related to divergent thinking and other problem-solving skills, which are then scored on three scales:

Fluency. The total number of interpretable, meaningful, and relevant ideas generated in response to the stimulus.

Originality. The statistical rarity of the responses.

Elaboration. The amount of detail in the responses.

Unlike IQ scores which have been steadily inching up over the past few decades, CQ (Creativity Quotient) scores have been in decline since around 1990. Up for vigorous debate is why creativity scores are falling and what we can do to bring those scores back up.

The questions raised by these declining scores are important:

• How did you learn to be creative? Did someone “teach” you?
• Would students benefit from “creativity” class in the same way they benefit from math or history?
• If it isn’t possible to teach creativity in a formal, structured setting (like a school), where do and can we learn to be creative?
• What’s at stake in losing our ability to create and innovate? How can we prevent that from happening?

Keep creativity alive! Open yourself to new experiences, new ideas and new approaches. Play and experiment. Instead of watching TV, draw and write and work equations. Debate with your friends. Build something. Sing and play cards and dance in your spare time. Teach your kids to do likewise.

I know this sounds wacky, but hang in there.

A distressed mother called a friend, asking for advice on her son.  “He wants to fight with everyone, and I don’t know what to do with him.”  He was on the verge of being kicked out of school.

The friend—smart lady that she is—suggested that the kid start going to martial arts lessons.

It worked like a charm.

If a kid is good at fighting, why not let him fight?  Just—ahem!—as long as he fights in a positive way.

Similarly, if a kid is good at math, why not give him a math tutor?  When our kids are good at sports or the performance arts, we often encourage them in those directions—giving lessons to the 4-year old piano prodigy or the 6-year old gymnast.

We don’t often do the same when it comes to intellectual talents.  Instead, of encouraging people to practice what they naturally excel in, we scold them and tell them to “improve” their areas of weakness.

Why, why, why?

Why make the brilliant scientist slog through added language arts lessons?  I know everyone needs basic competencies, and I’m not arguing against that.  What am I saying is that we shouldn’t be investing extra time in “improving” areas of natural disinterest.

We should bag the idea of improvement and embrace excellence.

Challenge yourself to climb mountains rather than perform at sea level.  If we let our best and brightest climb with their intellectual talents, the world would be a more exceptional place.

First things first. Defining Success.

How do you define success?

No, I’m not asking you to make a list of attributes of a “successful person.”  That’s not necessarily bunk, but it’s also not terribly helpful.

The emphasis in that sentence should be on you.  Who’s really making the decision about what you consider failure and what you consider success?  What IS success anyway?

Are you operating under someone else’s definition of success, or under your own definition?

Retain your power, and let the definition come from you.

Second things second. Keeping Failure in Perspective.

Realize the difference between major and minor missteps.

Some failures are mountains and others are molehills.  Not everything is a big deal.  Most failures, even big ones, are not permanent.

If your New Year’s resolution was to take up snowboarding, and you’re still bad at it after a good number of attempts, I think you should play basketball instead.

Let the same hold true for your life—in personal, academic and career realms.

Being a “failure” was not widely considered bad until the Great Depression. 

Until that moment in history, people’s identities were more fluid.   “Oh well, he wasn’t a good farmer, so he’s a hat maker now.” There was no sense of failure, just change. 

Some people come to me and confess that they’re afraid.  “I’m on the verge of failure, and I’m terrified.”

I’m struck by how powerfully people react to the idea of failing, but it comes as no surprise.  Our culture has the wrong idea about failure.  We fail to celebrate failure.

Too many mangers and teachers and parents focus on telling people HOW to do things—and end up judging the process rather than the end result.

Maybe I do things differently than other people, but if the answer is right, does it really matter how I got to it?

When I was in high school, I worked ridiculously long hours, but I could never quite keep up.  Every semester, I would fall behind. My guidance counselor would call me into the office, puzzled.  “I don’t get it.  You’re a screw-up, but you’re so smart.  You need to get it together.”

Meanwhile, I was working my butt off. 

I didn’t quite get it either.  I was working twice as hard as everyone else, and I still couldn’t cut it.  Yet, I knew that I wasn’t dumb.  I was smart, but I wasn’t good doing things according to the “right” process or procedure. 

As an adult, I learned to embrace flexibility, to do things my own way.  And now that I use my own approach, I almost always get it right.  Success comes to me—and I think to many people—through  “failing.”

I’ve learned that taking flexibility out of any system is always bad.   Whether it is how you view yourself or how you do your job, keep a sense of flexibility, a limber mind, a willingness to change.

It’s no surprise to me that, in today’s economy, that’s the advice that all of the major analysts are giving.  Stay flexible.

At first she was skeptical.  Would it work?  What information would she have to share?  Would the assistant do a good job?

She tested four different companies that assign you a virtual assistant:  GetFriday, Chennai, Red Butler, and AskSunday.
She put her virtual assistants through their paces, assigning them to research vacation options and prices, buy a wedding gift for a friend, and make inquiries to her health insurance company.

By the end of the article, she writes, “At first it was hard to outsource chores, but after a while it became easier. As a matter of fact, I’ve already started another to-do list for my virtual assistant.”
Even if you aren’t quite ready to send your laundry list to India, consider gathering a local team that will help you get things done.
What do you dislike doing?  What do you put off?

If it’s going to the grocery store, hire someone to pick your plums and fetch your milk.  If it’s doing your laundry, get a service.
The time and energy you save by NOT doing your own chores will be well worth the money.   Ponder that while you’re lugging another bag of mulch around your yard this weekend!

Not because I’m a particularly keen sports fan, but because the games are an amazing celebration of excellence.  An exhibition of the best playing the best.

Why not strive to harnessing that kind of power?

One of the lead stories out of the last World Cup was the conflict between France’s Zinedine Zidane and Italy’s Marco Materazzi.

After being taunted by Materazzi in the final game, Zidane delivered an aggressive head butt to Materazzi’s chest, knocking him over.  That move resulted in a red card for Zidane and marked the end of his World Cup career.  He went out on a bad note.  Passionate, but bad.  It is unfortunate that such a great player will be forever remembered not for his contributions to the sport, but for one rash decision.

The head butt wasn’t a complete surprise, however.  The World Cup, the Olympics–any contest involving a test of excellence–requires a tremendous amount of passion.

The look of intensity, deep focus, and complete mastery is something you can read on the face of every player.

I often thing about how powerful that intensity could be in all of life.  We’re encouraged to keep things at an even keel too often.  In some ways, that’s OK.  I mean, head butting co-workers–video-game style– is out of the question!

But fostering a culture of passionate focus–where you and the people around you are spurred to gain and express mastery over your field could make your workplace a much more interesting, rewarding, productive place.  Imagine how it would feel if you experimented with those ideas in your home life–putting yourself “all in” to your family.

I love talking with high achievers about how to get even more out of their performance.  If you’re on the cusp and eager to grow, I’d be glad to strategize with you about how to take practical steps in that direction.  Please call me at 804.288.0099.  I look forward to talking with you!

I think this moment in time teaches a powerful lesson.

Let yourself wish and long for those gravity-free moments.

Dwell in a world of possibility.  Surround yourself with ideas and people that inspire you.  The stuff of dreams isn’t just for little kids.  It’s worth reminding ourselves of that in very deliberate terms. In fact, big dreams and improbable flights of fancy can be important fuel.

Dreaming big gives us energy for the long haul.  

White’s space walk became a reality not just because he dreamed about it–wanted it, longed for it–but also because he put forth a great deal of hard work.  Months and years of studying and preparing for life as an astronaut led up to those brief minutes of freedom.

So, let yourself dream and then turn the passion of those hopes into real, tangible action.

–Sit down with a notebook: Jot down big ideas AND the strategies you need to pursue them

–Talk with a partner or trusted confidant:  Look for someone supportive, but impartial.  You’ll need to stay focused and challenged if you’re going to take the first step out of the shuttle and into the cosmos.

The NASA image of the day commemorates the moment.

more about “YouTube - Gemini 4 | NASAs First Ever…“, posted with vodpod