Do You Have a Sixth Sense?

Cradle To Cradle

A friend of mine picked up a pair of cradle to cradle nike shoes and they are pretty sweet. Check out www.thekevblog.wordpress.com for that story.

Anyways we got talking about a very well known architect, designer and author William McDonough. The idea of Cradle To Cradle is to remake the way we make things. In his Ted talk in 2005 he discusses how the world is kind of like a toilet that doesn’t flush. In a sense, fixing this toilet is the premise behind Cradle To Cradle. So, for example a child’s blanket is made with warning labels about how the materials may cause the child harm if ingested. Why not manufacture a blanket that when a child chews on it, it gives them nutrients. Then once the child is done with the blanket, the materials are 100% recyclable or biodegradable. It’s such a simple but great concept. Take a look at William McDonough’s Ted talk…

Time

 

Today, only if you have time, I’m going to take you back to my grade 5 class many moons ago.

 

One day when we came in from recess my teacher had the “pull down screen” (for the projector) covering the blackboard. He sat at his desk and did not make eye contact with any of us. We quickly hung up our belongings and scurried to our desks like a heard of little sheep.

 

After a long awaited silence he asked us all “what do you think is the most important thing in life?” A few of the people in the front put up their hand and said love, family, success, money, happiness…

 

He claimed that those were all great answers and stated that they were not wrong. However, he let us do some more thinking (I got the feeling that none of these answers were words he was looking for).

 

After a few more seconds of dead silence (and tumbleweeds) he lifted up the screen to reveal the most important thing in life. In huge bold capital letters he had written out this word clear as day…

 

 

 

TIME

 

 

 

I remember this lesson like it was yesterday and I was 10 years old.

 

Okay, first you have to understand this teacher. He was the scariest, meanest, most intimidating teacher the world had ever seen and he made many people cry. He made us do speeches once a week. He had the infamous hot seat that sat front and center of the classroom right beside his endless desk. And let me tell you, this hot seat wasn’t just any hot seat; it was old school, wooden and uncomfortable. Not mention the desk was still attached to the chair (come to think of it all the seats in the classroom were old school like this). Anyways this was the scariest seat in the room (you get the idea).

 

The most amazing thing is that I can remember every life lesson he taught me.

 

So, when we used the word “we” instead of “I” (that was a perfect example) he would yell out “GEOFFREY, HOT SEAT!” Everyone would dash to their seats and wait in anticipation.

 

Side note: on the first day of school the blackboard was covered with words like initiative, perseverance, struggle and success. These words stayed up all year. You have to understand… this man took teaching a step further.

 

Back to the story… the most important thing in life is time. As soon as I read this word I completely disagreed with him. He totally saw it in our eyes. After letting us ponder some more he finally got to his reasoning.

 

“If you have time you can love. If you have time you can start a family. If you have time you can create success. If you have time you can make all the money you will ever need. If you have time you can find happiness.”

 

Thinking back to this lesson I can understand, now more then ever, exactly the lesson he was trying to instill. You need to take time to live. You need to take time to love and struggle and have a family and create success and be happy.

 

We live in such a time stricken society. Everything is always GO, GO, GO! We wake up in the morning, eat breakfast (if we have time), speed off to work in an rush (road rage), sit through those very structured and painful meetings, speed home to scarf down dinner and head out to your kids soccer practice or out with friends. Then you sleep.

 

Think about all the time we waste. Think about all the things you want to do with your life. Why haven’t you done them yet?

 

I need to take more time to do what I love. I think you should too.

 

Oh yeah! I was going to post an interesting video I found on www.ted.com. I promise I looked for the “ted in half” version but I couldn’t find it so if you have time, check it out!

 

Do Schools Today Kill Creativity?

I could not agree more with Sir Ken Robinson. I spent 4 years at University so I could “learn how to learn.” I think the take home message for me was that about 75% of my learning happened outside the classroom. Interesing…

So now I have a degree and like a majority of my peers I feel like I am going to have to go back to school (and take something I’m more interested in). I do not feel prepared for the real world and just don’t know where I want to begin. I have so many ideas but feel way too young for anyone to trust them. Also, it seems as though a degree means nothing in today’s society. For example, in a recent job interview lasting for 90 minutes I was asked a total of two questions about my degree. They all want life experience. They all want creativity. They all want innovation. Why couldn’t I sign up for those courses?

Don’t get me wrong. I had a great time at school and would not be half the person I am today if I neglected to pursue a post secondary education. However, it’s all about how you sell yourself. Like in the movie 21 when Jim Sturgess is applying to medical school and he asks his professor if he has been wowed. It’s about confidence, creativity and being different.

Parenting 101

 

The more you tell your child they can not or should not do something, the more they want to do it. Although I do not have children I have spent years working with children and young people of all ages and from all sorts of diverse demographics. Here are some thoughts but like Giver Tulley says ”please take this advice with a grain of salt.” 

 

“We live in a world that is subjected to even more stringent child safety regulations. There doesn’t seem to be any limit on how crazy child safety regulations can get. -Gever Tulley

 

As a parent, the best thing you can do for your child is help them explore their curiosity, regardless of their age. Minimize restrictions and allow them to experience different environments. These experiences will ultimately develop creativity and understanding. Parents, you need to appreciate that your children will do what they want to do regardless of what you tell them. Try not to filter their learning but rather educate them about their actions and help them grow. Help them do what they want to do in a safe and supervised environment.

 

 

As a child my parents took me to a family cottage. On the way in, my father sat me on his lap and let me drive along the unpaved road. I used an axe to chop wood and matches to light the fire. I was allowed to do this at a very young age. I felt so empowered, so responsible, and so trusted. And I did not feel like I was being supervised. Don’t worry, my parents drew a very thick line in the sand when I asked if I could drive my cousin’s dirt bike!

 

In this society there are so many child safety regulations. Let your children explore. Learning is apart of life. For me, I had to fall down the stairs before I learned to hang on to the railing. I had to burn myself before I learned specific chemical properties of fire. Remember, a scar always makes for an enlightening story later on in life.

 

I realize that formal education can not parallel the factors Gever Tulley discusses. But when your children come home from school, allow them to explore their interests. Let them take apart old appliances. Give them responsibility. Empower them as individuals. Provide them with the opportunity to build, deconstruct and create. Learn with them.

 

“If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” -Michael Jordan

The Mystery Box

J.J. Abram worked on many films including Armageddon, Joy Ride and Mission Impossible III. Check out his presentation at TED in March of 2007.

Two very powerful statements in this presentation really stood out.

“Mystery is the catalyst for imagination.”

Take a second to think about your formal education. Think about all the things you were taught in the classroom. I was given the opportunity to attend post secondary school. In four years I can proudly say I learned how to learn. However, after seeing “The Mystery Box” I ask myself a few questions. Why in my post secondary education was I not given the opportunity to imagine? Sure, I got a science degree and memorized textbooks upon textbooks of concepts and theories but why didn’t I get an opportunity to write a paper about the future of science? Why wasn’t I doing research about how the world is changing and how I will work to collaborate with that change? Why didn’t we talk about global warming? Why wasn’t I prepared for the world I am entering?

Ken Robinson tells a story of a little girl in a drawing lesson and according to the teacher, the girl hardly ever paid attention. However in this particular drawing lesson she did. So the teacher wanders to the back of the classroom and asks the little girl what she’s drawing and the six year old responses by saying “I am drawing God.” The teacher claims that “no one knows what God looks like.” The little girl responds by saying “you will in a minute.”

Ken Robinson was right. Education does kill creativity.

“No community is best served when only the elite have control.”

We live in a world where there is so much more opportunity for the “not so elite” to create, collaborate, and imagine. Embrace and practice the ideas of Wikinomics. Take mass collaboration to the next level. Apply for a position above your qualifications. Dare to imagine. Do what Abram did and create. Go out and make your own movie. More often then not, luck seems to fall into the hands of those that are working just a little bit harder. Take time after work or after school to do what you enjoy.

And the next time you see a blank screen or a white piece of blank paper remember the mystery box. Look at that screen and think of the opportunity, think of the possibilities, imagine.