I have often wondered how it is that we can focus on one thing rather than another, why we can sometimes focus so clearly that we exclude all other distractions. Like internet algorithms, It turns out that we have a system in our brains that does just that. The Reticular Activation System.

J K Rowling’s commencement address is a beutifully crafted speech about Failure, imagination and responsibility.

Witty, humourous, touching and succinct.

Creative thinking involves risk and uncertainty, but it is how we grow as individuals, as communities and as societies. We share information and then step up on the knowledge ladder and add a further step for those following in our footsteps.

Innovation and creative minds are the natural state for humans, we’ve used it to change and adapt throughout our evolution, and as a result, we have our place in the world.

Habit and behavioural change take time, but by taking small steps and following simple rules any behaviour can be changed.

Design thinking is a structured process for creatively approaching complex problem solving and product development by understanding, deconstructing, reasoning and reconstructing the problem. There are 5 basic stages: Analysis, problem framing and defining, ideation and creative thinking, modelling and prototyping, and testing and evaluating.

What do you think you see when you open your eyes? Do you think you see the world as it really is?

Creative minds actively seek out risk and uncertainty.

Leaders mobilize people not just by their words and their passion, but by the concepts that drive their thinking. That thinking is delivered by the strength of their metaphors.

Self-Help Books offer promise, hope, transformation, a better life, better relationships, fulfillment, optimization, personal development.

I don’t know about you, but I love self-help books and I also hate them

Stories are as alive and well today as they ever were. They still have the power to inform, inspire, and manipulate.

Conspiracy theorists peddle their version of the truth. Is there any reason to believe?

Perhaps all these conspiracy theories are just a smokescreen hiding the real truth?

Dr. Seuss's books would have sold 650 million copies, translated into 17 languages, and distributed in 95 countries, using no more than 250 words. Constraints are the Catalyst for Creativity.

We invent enemies in order to unify our allies in a common cause directed at an “outsider” who doesn’t belong to our in-group. Without common shared causes and goals, we lose our identities within our communities.

Uncertainty about the future is nothing new. In conditions of uncertainty, such as we have now, navigating towards a distant destination is perilous. Conditions change, viewpoints change, but if the destination is clear, then all decisions will point in the same direction toward the objective. Confidence, clarity and focus about this ultimate destination require perseverance and determination.

The long and the short of it is the problem. Short term thinking only leads to short term answers.

In today’s complex, information-rich world, it is easy not to get lost in irrelevance and lose sight of priorities. Socratic questioning and Critical thinking is a crucial skill and is the ability to be able to separate what is important and relevant for decision-making.

Since Amazon’s founding 22 years ago, the flywheel concept has guided the company’s core principles and is the driving force behind its rapid ascent.

Gossip is part of our culture. It has fuelled tabloid newspapers, TV shows, and tell-all books and has found itself in many company cultures. The problem is that gossip, more often than not, tends to be negative. It’s a way of talking about someone who isn’t present and to whom you wouldn’t talk in the same way if they were directly in front of you.

Stories are fundamental to how we communicate and how we build our cultures.

The four ways of leading are ways of being. They are states of behavior.

The Lotus Blossom Technique for deconstructing any problem.

Fractionating Attributes is a powerful device for breaking apart a problem or challenge into separate pieces, which can be re-assembled in a new form.

There only two things you can control in your life; attitude and effort.

Jim Kwik suggests that to live a limitless life, to be able to better use the potential of your whole brain, you need to address three areas.

Mindset, Motivation and Method.

32 years ago I used to be a very heavy smoker, nearly two packs per day. Soon after the birth of my daughter, we brought her home from the hospital. As I held her in my arms I was also just finishing a cigarette. My daughter gave a little cough and I realised if there was ever a time to give up smoking this was it!

Quantity vs Quality. Better Brainstorming.

Scientific method and creative thinking.

Above all other things, science is steeped in uncertainty and doubt. Without doubting and questioning, science, and knowledge wouldn’t progress.

Should you use a carrot or a stick to motivate people to “do better”.

6 Steps to Defining and Understanding a Challenge.

The central phases of creative problem-solving, Divergent, Emergent and Convergent thinking depend on the amount of Attitude and effort you apply.

3 Thinking Errors that hold back creative problem-solving.

It’s the small things that matter.

Broken Windows theory.

· Creative thinking is something we all want in our lives, but often don’t think they’re are capable of it.

· Most people think creative thinking is just not for them, that it’s a mystical magic force.

· Most people think creativity is a talent you are born with, so they don’t even try.

3 Easy Rules for making complex subjects simple

Confirmation Bias looks for information to confirm what it already knows and rejects any that doesn’t fit.

Using the Pixar Pitch to tell any story

Failure, Rejection and Doubt can be the Fuel for Creative Thinking

Story Brand - How Story Applies to Better Busines

Why Uncertainty is at the heart of creative thinking

Curiosity; Risk, sacrifice, commitment, and a little ignorance.

Procrastination. 6 methods to overcome putting things off.

Defining what creativity is has always been difficult. Creativity - An open and closed case.

5 Basic Conditions

Is it joy that makes us grateful or is it gratitude that makes us joyful? Mathew McConnaughey tells us that gratitude and happiness are more than just a state of mind.

Why our minds trick us. Do placebos really work? Why human behaviour is often emotional rather than rational?

Sometimes very small changes and sometimes very big changes. How chicken soup holds the key creative thinking. 9 ways to liberate your thinking.