Entrepreneurs Creative Edge

Flexible Focus: A Zoom Lens for Your Life

A great deal of information flows from English into Japanese in the form of books, translations, and interpretations by people in all walks of life.

However the amount of quality information that flows from Japanese into English is a mere trickle in comparison, and this is a shame, because there is so much we can learn from Asian culture.

I have recently been given a golden opportunity to reverse the process, and share something very significant from Japan that has never before been presented in any depth in English.

I have started a new weekly column as a guest blogger on www.activegarage.com called Flexible Focus, which will present the Mandala Chart as a tool for which can create continuous improvement in many areas of your life.

The first article is already online: Flexible Focus #1—Inside the Mandala Chart: A Zoom Lens for Your Life.

Future installments will appear weekly at mid-week, and will be listed under the category of Flexible Focus, as well as on the Series page at www.activegarage. I am planning at least 64 installments, and will probably continue after that.

As a bonus, I have created a WebBrain index which contains graphics and attachments.

If you are interested in innovation, life/work balance, and practical applications of Asian wisdom, the Mandala Chart is an essential resource.

You can subscribe to the blog for updates. See you on the other side!

The Art of Making Sense

Five Channels of Communication

Life is not logical, at least for people who prefer to communicate through other channels.

You will reach more people if you know how to convey your thoughts and feelings flexibly through all five channels of communication, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, logical, and energetic. 

If you are a speaker or a teacher, you will be able to relate to what Edgar Dale described as a Cone of Learning, in which we remember 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, 30% of what we see, 50% of what we hear and see, 70% of what we say, and 90% of what we say and do.

But there is more to the art of making sense than just accessing the channels of communication. You also need relevant and engaging content and dynamic delivery. This is the topic of the article in my column on Daijob.com, Creative Career Path, entitled The Art of Making Sense. 

When you start making sense, you are ready to start making magic.

Short History of Visual Thinking

SXSW 2010: Dan Roam on Visual Thinking from Teehan+Lax on Vimeo.

Dan Roam has widened the window for all of us by getting back to basics in visual communication.

His concept is solving problems with pictures, but his method is revolutionary in its simplicity.

This is evident the moment you arrive at his website, The Back of the Napkin.

The site invites you to diagram and draw your way out of any problem you can conceive of, and bring others with you on the journey.

And while you are at it, subscribe to Dan Roam's Blog for updates that will send you hints on how to solve complex problems with simple pictures.

Sunlit Sea

Sunlit Sea (温海 atsumi), Calligraphy by William Reed, frame and presentation by Carre MOJI.
(click on photo for closer view)

The characters in this painting literally mean warm sea, but I used a red ink stroke for the center of the sun radical (日), titling it Sunlit Sea. The gold frame reflects the sun-kissed effect, and the landscape of the islands and coastline of the Seto Inland Sea appear faintly in the distance. 

The theme for this calligraphy was inspired by a Sunset Cruise we took during our October visit to Shikoku with 5 French Bloggers for the Shikoku Muchujin Project. 

Photo from our Sunset Cruise on the Seto Inland Sea, October 2009.

The photo takes you there to a degree, but is probably closer to your own familiar sunset memories.

Calligraphy takes you there in strokes of imagination, where you can see the sun, smell the sea breeze, feel the surging waves under the ship.

Our digital world has replaced much of our direct sensory experience with indirect virtual experience, sometimes making it difficult to distinguish between the two. However, art gives you a way to go deeper, even in the digital medium.

What you experience in a snapshot is borrowed experience, unless the photographer is also an artist who can transport you to a new and unfamiliar way of seeing.

What you experience is art is sensory and subjective, and beckons you to make it your own. How far you pursue the invitation is up to you. Do you see it as a label for something, or as a portal to open the doors of your perception?

Does the painting tell you or transport you? 

Getting Started on Your Brain

Announcing a Webinar introducing PersonalBrain convenient for people in Asia-Pacific time zones, or anyone if you register and get the recorded link sent to you.

There is a Japanese version of the software as well. 日本語版もあります！

Who is this webinar for?

New users who want to learn more about PersonalBrain.

Existing users who are focused on getting their files or existing Thought structures in shape or users who have a new project or resolution that they must achieve.

When will the webinar be held?

Asia Pacific Daytime Attendee Time:

*Sydney Australia: Wednesday, November 18th at 11:00 am
*Tokyo Japan: Wednesday, November 18th at 9:00 am （１１月１８日午前９：００）
*Hong Kong: Wednesday, November 18th at 8:00 am

US and Canada Evening Attendee Time:
*Tuesday, November 17th at 4:00 pm  PST, 7:00 pm EST

What will the webinar cover?

This Web Seminar Covers:

• Ideas on useful categories for your Brain

• Mapping out key personal and business topics

• Creating multiple Thoughts, linking existing files and Web pages

• Linking, unlinking and deleting Thoughts

• Updating your Brain with new colors and wallpaper

• Using new PersonalBrain 4.0 features

• Any questions on PersonalBrain you may have!

You must register here to attend this free webinar: Registration Page

What is cool about PersonalBrain?

It has a dynamic interface that brings your current thought to the center of the plex. This allows you to organize with flexible focus, so that you aren't stuck with your initial impressions.

You can link to anything on your computer or online, so that all relevant thoughts, files, or links are stored in one convenient place. No matter how complicated it gets, you can easily search, filter, reframe, and display to make it as simple or complex as you like.

You can share your Brain files in a number of cool formats which can be viewed by other people on a web browser, displayed on your website, or added to the cool Webbrain site!

And they are about to release Version 5.5, which has all kinds of new cool features!

Check out my Brain on Nanba: Art of Physical Finesse.

Check out the Brain on David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD).

Find out why PersonalBrain is the software of choice for James Fallows, National Correspondent for The Atlantic, and for James Burke, author of the BBC series Connections.

There is a Japanese version of the software as well. 日本語版もあります！

And we will be rolling out lots of content ourselves that will make this cool software even cooler!

If you join us for the event you can type in questions in real time. Even if you can't make the Webinar in real time, if you register you will receive a link to the recording and watch it later.

Join us on the Webinar this week, and get a good overview of how it could work for you!

日本語でこのブログを読む！Read this blog in any language!

今すぐこのブログを日本語で読むことができます。左側の私の写真の下にPowered by GOOGLE Translateにて、日本語、または他の世界の言語を選べばたちまちこのサイトの全部のコンテンツは日本語に変わります。機械翻訳ですので、文書の巧さは保証できませんが、その代わり自由に内容を伺うことができます。

This site is now Powered by GOOGLE Translate. Go to the widget under my photo in the left-hand column, select the language of your choice, and in just moments it will translate the entire site into that language. Of course, it is machine translation so not 100% reliable, nor as good as the original :-).

Enjoy!

NANBA Lifestyle 3D Tour

Welcome to the World of Nanba. After this quick 3D Tour, to explore more of the contents, visit my Webbrain NANBA: Art of Physical Finesse.

Soon it will get even cooler when I make it interactive with online training. Stay tuned!

The Future of Learning

"The meaning of knowledge has shifted
from being able to remember and repeat information,
to being able to find and use information."

Herbert Simon
Nobel Prize Winner

THE FUTURE OF LEARNING: The Michel Thomas Method, is a book written by Marilyne and Wyatt Woodsmall, about a man of great courage and a genius at learning and teaching foreign languages. Michel Thomas developed a way to teach a person how to be fluent in a foreign language in 3 to 5 days of immersion with his method, and he proved it over and over again with a stellar cast of famous celebreties, diplomats, and executives. The authors of this book have revealed and modeled his method and its applications for the first time.

I have created a Webbrain called THE FUTURE OF LEARNING, where I have collected useful information and videos about Michel Thomas in one place. I have also added areas where I see great compatibility and potential applications.

Because the Webbrain is still in Beta mode, occasionally the server may be down for maintenance, but if it doesn't display when you click the link, please try again later. Generally it will be no problem. The Webbrain looks like this, and contains many attachments to web links including videos of Michel Thomas and other Master Teachers.



This is powerful. In terms of learning, it may well hold to key to genius and freedom of mind.

Tangram: Seven Boards of Skill

Tangram (七巧板), knows as the Seven Boards of Skill

(from the iPhone App, TANGRAM Puzzle PRO)

The origins of the Chinese puzzle Tangram remain obscure, though its first written record dates to the early 1800s, when it was also introduced to the West carried on ships from China. Even Napoleon was said to have owned a set. No doubt it's history extends much deeper into China's past.

One story has it that a square tile was to be delivered to the Emperor, but was dropped on the ground and split not into a thousand, but into 7 geometrically perfect pieces. In attempting to reassemble the pieces into a square, one pattern after another emerged resembling animals, human figures, and easily recognizable shapes. The broken tile was then presented to the Emperor as a gift, a fascinating puzzle with thousands of shapes and solutions.

The puzzle is presented as shown above as an outline or silhouette, giving no clues as to the outline of the pieces which form the solution. The pieces must fit exactly, and they may not overlap. Though there are thousands of possible shapes, there is only one unique solution to each shape. To find the solution you must turn and flip the pieces, trying them out in various combinations, like a combination on a lock, until the solution appears and the puzzle pieces pop into place.

It can be played as a solitaire game, or racing for the solution against another person working on the same shape. Tangrams are sold as plastic or wooden puzzles, and there are also digital forms available on online. 

Tangrams take you out of time and exercise your imagination. Why not give them a try?

Another Cat at the Edge

While we're on the subject of cats, here is another cat at the edge. Thanks to my friend Scott Bohart for the heads up on this one!

Being a dog owner, I have to add another favorite quote.

"If you think dogs can't count,
try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket
and then give him only two of them."

-Phil Pastoret

For more great dog quotes, by, from, or about, visit the Absurd and Askew Blog.