Meraki

Meraki (pronounced may-rah-kee; Greek): Doing something with soul, creativity, or love. It’s when you put something of yourself into what you’re doing. What a lovely notion: You infuse all your acts of creation are infused with a piece of you.

  • Character strengths: Creativity, Love, Honesty, Spirituality and Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence. 
  • Strengths of competence: Presence, Discoverer and Achiever talents.

Want to take your Meraki to the next level?

  • Start with reading: The Element by Ken Robinson

Great TED talks to check out:

Canadian filmmaker Martin Villeneuve talks about “Mars et Avril,” the sci-fi spectacular he made with virtually no money over a seven-year stretch. In this charming talk, he explains the various ways he overcame financial and logistical constraints to produce his unique and inventive vision of the future.

Jose Antonio Abreu is the charismatic founder of a youth orchestra system that has transformed thousands of kids’ lives in Venezuela. Here he shares his amazing story and unveils a TED Prize wish that could have a big impact in the US and beyond.

How do creative people come up with great ideas? Organizational psychologist Adam Grant studies “originals“: thinkers who dream up new ideas and take action to put them into the world. In this talk, learn three unexpected habits of originals — including embracing failure. “The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they’re the ones who try the most,” Grant says. “You need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones.”

Elizabeth Gilbert was once an “unpublished diner waitress,” devastated by rejection letters. And yet, in the wake of the success of ‘Eat, Pray, Love,’ she found herself identifying strongly with her former self. With beautiful insight, Gilbert reflects on why success can be as disorienting as failure and offers a simple — though hard — way to carry on, regardless of outcomes.

Elizabeth Gilbert muses on the impossible things we expect from artists and geniuses — and shares the radical idea that, instead of the rare person “being” a genius, all of us “have” a genius. It’s a funny, personal and surprisingly moving talk.

Novelist Amy Tan digs deep into the creative process, looking for hints of how hers evolved.

 

Nunchi

Nunchi (Korean): the subtle art of listening and gauging another’s mood. In Western culture, nunchi could be described as the concept of emotional intelligence. Knowing what to say or do, or what not to say or do, in a given situation. A socially clumsy person can be described as ‘nunchi eoptta’, meaning “absent of nunchi”

Some people call this a soft skills, but it is perhaps the most difficult of all to master. In mastering it you must tap into your own sense of self. Nunchi only works if you are authentic and sincere.

Strengths fed

Where you go with it is up to you, but it can serve you in business and personal endevors enriching your relationships with others.

Want to grow your Nunchi?

Watch some great Ted Talks

Neuroscientist Uri Hasson researches the basis of human communication, and experiments from his lab reveal that even across different languages, our brains show similar activity, or become “aligned,” when we hear the same idea or story. This amazing neural mechanism allows us to transmit brain patterns, sharing memories and knowledge. “We can communicate because we have a common code that presents meaning,” Hasson says.

When your job hinges on how well you talk to people, you learn a lot about how to have conversations — and that most of us don’t converse very well. Celeste Headlee has worked as a radio host for decades, and she knows the ingredients of a great conversation: Honesty, brevity, clarity and a healthy amount of listening. In this insightful talk, she shares 10 useful rules for having better conversations. “Go out, talk to people, listen to people,” she says. “And, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.”

Brené Brown studies human connection — our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share.

 

Kaizen

Kaizen, Japanese for “improvement.” When used in the business sense and applied to the workplace, kaizen refers to activities that continuously improve all functions and involve all employees from the CEO to the assembly line workers.

Strengths Fed:

Want to take your Kaizen to another level? Read on:

This summer, take some time, brew yourself some tea and reflect on this word and what it means for you. Why did I choose this word for you? How can you make it your own?

I have colated some special Ted talks to help you focus your reflection: 

From the EG conference: Productivity guru Tim Ferriss’ fun, encouraging anecdotes show how one simple question — “What’s the worst that could happen?” — is all you need to learn to do anything.

Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain’s capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field.

Is there something you’ve always meant to do, wanted to do, but just … haven’t? Matt Cutts suggests: Try it for 30 days. This short, lighthearted talk offers a neat way to think about setting and achieving goals.

 

 

Grit

The Finns have something they call Sisu. It is a compound of bravado and bravery, of ferocity and tenacity, of the ability to keep fighting after most people would have quit, and to fight with the will to win. Some people will call it grit, and it certainly has that. If you are lucky enough to get to know some Finns you will see they have some deep reserves.

Strengths fed:

 

Want to take your Sisu to another level? Read on:

I have colated some special Ted talks to help you focus your reflection: 

Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success.

Carol Dweck researches “growth mindset” — the idea that we can grow our brain’s capacity to learn and to solve problems. In this talk, she describes two ways to think about a problem that’s slightly too hard for you to solve. Are you not smart enough to solve it … or have you just not solved it yet? A great introduction to this influential field.

In the pitch-black night, stung by jellyfish, choking on salt water, singing to herself, hallucinating … Diana Nyad just kept on swimming. And that’s how she finally achieved her lifetime goal as an athlete: an extreme 100-mile swim from Cuba to Florida — at age 64. Hear her story.

 


 

Gemeinshaftgefuhl

What a mouthful, I thought, when I first heard this word. My friend had told me I had what the German’s called Gemeinshaftgefuhl. I almost said bless you, because the word sounded funny. But he explained that it was a special sentiment: It had to do with the love of your fellow human being. More than that, it meant dong something to help your fellow man, for the sheer love of them.  The Germans have a way of constructing words—so many syllables. But what a spirit this one captures. Some translate it as “community feeling” or “social interest,” the Psychologist, Alfred  Adler used it to describe the state of social connectedness and interest in the well-being of others that characterizes psychological health.

Strengths Fed

Want to take your Gemeinshaftgefuhl to another level? Read on:

Path to Purpose.

Want to make your job matter in the world? Your work can feed your altruism. 

TED has some great ideas:

It’s hard to always show compassion — even to the people we love, but Robert Thurman asks that we develop compassion for our enemies. He prescribes a seven-step meditation exercise to extend compassion beyond our inner circle.

Google’s “Jolly Good Fellow,” Chade-Meng Tan, talks about how the company practices compassion in its everyday business — and its bold side projects.

Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence, asks why we aren’t more compassionate more of the time.

What is altruism? Put simply, it’s the wish that other people may be happy. And, says Matthieu Ricard, a happiness researcher and a Buddhist monk, altruism is also a great lens for making decisions, both for the short and long term, in work and in life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Book Review: Grit

Angela Lee Duckworth has released her long awaited book that follows up from her stunnng Ted Talk:

 

Angela has spent all of her academic career investigating what she believes is one of the defining characteristic of successful people.

The book opens with the drop outs of westpoint, which she spoke on her Ted talk. She expands on her research there and follows up with Spelling Bees. While familiar grounds, she goes in much deeper with a meander through human achievement research with the likes of GaltonEricssonCsikszentmihalyiWillinghamCox, and several others. Her pulling together, in one volume, proves the most useful part of the book. While her own anecdotes provide some insight, but lack weight. Her own research is only in its infancy. So the details she provides gives useful backdrop for the coversation, except the conversation is one sided. She really does not address can one have too much grit? The answer is Yes!

Having just completed the book, I have aimed to pull together the best strategies for building your grit (not all of which Angela discusses):

On Angela’s website she is asked about parenting and teaching for Grit and replies:

The entire book is about teaching grit. Before I became a psychologist, I was a classroom teacher. It was as a teacher that I discovered how important psychology was to a child’s achievement. It’s not an exaggeration to say that every chapter in this book has special relevance to teachers. Chapters Two and Three might be especially useful when explaining the importance of effort (versus talent) to students. Chapters Six, Seven, Eight, and Nine on interest, practice, purpose, and hope are where I define the four psychological assets that lead to grit. In Chapter Nine, I talk about parenting for grit—but the same dynamics play out in the classroom. In Chapter Ten, I explain why Harvard and other colleges are eager to see students cultivate their grit in extracurricular activities. Finally, a teacher who wants the classroom culture to support grit will find Chapter Twelve full of examples of how to do that.

 That is one significant problem with the book. Her research reveals little about how to cultivate grit in real, normal circumstances. Million dollar organizations like West Point and Seahawks are not the real world. Paul Tough did a far better job outlining and illustrating a plan in How Children Succeed

Ethan Ris takes her task in an important Op-Ed for the Washington Post:

There’s more to the story, however. In a recent peer-reviewed article in the Journal of Educational Controversy, I examined the history of the discourse surrounding this special trait. It far predates Duckworth’s research, of course. My investigation led me to two conclusions. The first is that the widespread assumption that grit is a salient concept for low-income students is a stark misconception. The second is that while grit theory offers little of value to those disadvantaged students, it can certainly harm them, by romanticizing hardship.

Still, this is an important book. Already number 13 on Amazon (Behind Dr Seuss, a Deit cookbook, a pre-teen story about Greek Gods, Harry Potter, Alexander Hamilton, Bill Clinton, and two adult colouring books–so clearly not as important as all those escapes from our Gritty world, but still important), this book will be a big seller this year.





 

Book Review: Grit

Angela Lee Duckworth has released her long awaited book that follows up from her stunnng Ted Talk:

 

Angela has spent all of her academic career investigating what she believes is one of the defining characteristic of successful people. Having just completed the book, I have aimed to pull together the best strategies for building your grit (not not all Angela discusses):

The book opens with the drop outs of westpoint, which she spoke on her Ted talk. She expands on her research there and follows up with Spelling Bees. While familiar grounds, she goes in much deeper with a meander through human achievement research with the likes of Galton, EricssonCsikszentmihalyi




 

A dozen ways to build Identity Capital:

Dr. Meg Jay, author of “The Defining Decade,” borrowed the term Identity Capital from socioligist ames Côté to describe the task of becoming yourself:

“Identity capital is our collection of personal assets. It is the repertoire of individual resources that we assemble over time. These are the investments we make in ourselves, the things we do well enough, or long enough, that they become a part of who we are. Some identity capital goes on a résumé, such as degrees, jobs, test scores, and clubs. Other identity capital is more personal, such as how we speak, where we are from, how we solve problems, how we look. Identity capital is how we build ourselves—bit by bit, over time.

 

Her Ted Talk is well worth the view:

I am struck by the idea of building one’s identity and how it can relate to leveraging one’s strengths. Inspired by Nicole Booz’s excellent list in Gen Twenty, I have crafted one aimed more specifically for high school students. I borrow heavily from her list, so credit is really due to her. I reorgnaized them so my list only has a dozen items. 

Here are more than a dozen ways to build Identity Capital:

  1. Identify goals you want to achieve in the next month.
  2. Give back to a cause that matters to you by volunteering your time.
  3. Keep your resume up to date.
  4. Spend quality time with people you consider family.
  5. Ask for more responsibility in one of your clubs.
  6. Learn something new such as:
    1. Read books from multiple genres.
    2. Learn a new skill; practice it for six months.
    3. Listen to TED talks and podcasts for inspiration.
    4. Learn a new technique for something you already know how to do.
    5. Attend a workshop for something you’d like to know more about.
    6. Learn a new language.
  7. Practice strong resiliency skills
    1. Avoid comparing yourself to others.
    2. Identify your natural talents.
    3. Stop doing things you don’t truly enjoy.
    4. Eliminate time-sucks in your life that aren’t productive.
    5. Stop procrastinating.
    6. Make a commitment and see it through.
  8. Keep a gratitude journal.
  9. What the heck:
    1. At least once a month, try something you’ve never done before.
    2. Cook your way through a professional cookbook.
    3. Take a break from social media.
    4. Spend a weekend cleaning out your closet and de-cluttering your home.
    5. Wake up and start your day earlier.
    6. Go for a hike and spend time outdoors.
    7. Go to the ballet, opera, or a show.
    8. Do something you’ve always been afraid to.
    9. Plan a vacation to a destination filled with history.
    10. Dedicate a few hours each week to a hobby that you enjoy.
    11. Set a fitness goal and work to achieve it.
  10. Schedule a meeting with one of your teachers and ask for feedback.
  11. Engage deeply in some sort of personal expression or creative project such as:
    1. Try your hand at a Pinterest DIY project.
    2. Start a scrapbook.
    3. Learn calligraphy.
    4. Start a collection of something you enjoy.
    5. Try your hand at writing a novel.
    6. Start a blog and connect with like-minded individuals.
  12. Dream big:
    1. Make a https://www.bucketlist.org/ for the year; actively work to check off the boxes.
    2. Map out what your dream career path looks like from beginning to retirement.
    3. Write a letter to 80-year old you. What do you hope to have achieved by then?
    4. Allow yourself to daydream about who you want to be… then go be it.

 Shoutout to Eric for pointing me to the book the Defining Decade.