I attended an interesting seminar tonight hosted by the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. The guest speaker was Chic Thompson; author, cartoonist, idea strategist and teacher from UVA's Darden School. He also created and teaches children with Wagi-labs. His message was an interesting one, "be curious first and critical second." This is the opposite of our behavior when we hear a new idea. His message of creative problem solving was a strong one. What happens to our natural curiosity and how do we light that spark back in our minds? Chic says it is by looking at things inside out and backwards then forwards. Basically he is changing the pattern of how we assume and analyze. By smiling and laughing more, we can literally change our mindset from critical to positive. When confronted by a problem and searching for a solution, we need to ask ourselves "why" at least 5 times as we reason it out. These are just some techniques to change the patterns in our minds.

How many times in a day do any of us do this? I found his whole idea thought provoking. People by nature put themselves in a box. We need to look at things differently and perhaps try to find a new way to utilize the box, or perhaps make it something completely different. These methods can spark our creativity and lead us down an exciting path to success.

In a business sales environment, the old saying was "Always be closing"! Well today, I would like to change that to "Always be learning". To grow and move forward, to create and innovate. That is how we change the patterns, re-frame our brains, and lead more fufilled lives both in and out of the office.