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Invest No Time, Get Smarter & More Creative

One of the best ways to become smarter and more creative is by putting more stuff in your brain, and one of the best ways to get more stuff in your brain is to listen better and read more.  Ray Edwards says, “Creativity does not happen in a vacuum.  You don’t have new ideas by having an absence of other ideas”.  That’s called being in a vegetative state.

Start by making a list

All of us get distracted from and often disinterested in reading, so start by making of list of things that you want to learn – a hobby that you want to know more about, a series of fictional novels that you’ve always wanted to read, etc. Have fun! I keep a running list on Amazon of book titles that I am interested in reading someday.  Also, don’t forget to record titles that friends and coworkers recommend. Oh, and magazines count!

Be “Ready to read”

Books are potable. And in today’s world, they are more portable that ever, so have a book or two with you at all times or get a Kindle. Then, when you have some “in-between time” pull out one you’re books or your kindle. You’ve got lots of down time – doctor’s offices, soccer sidelines, etc. Keeping books in easy to reach places will help you keep up with this valuable habit. You don’t, and most likely won’t tackle an entire book in one sitting. In fact, I have books that have taken me years to finish. Some I finish in a week, while others just stay near my nightstand or in the family room where I’ll read 10 or 20 pages and then not return to it for months. The main things is to keep reading, and having books handy makes this much easier to accomplish.

Make use of Audio books

Audio books fit into those N.E.T time moments. (No Extra Time)  You can find almost every title out there in audio form. In fact, I listed to around 15 books per year in audio format. Most get listened to while I’m driving here or there – shorts burst of 10 minutes or ten miles or so. Audio books can go where print books can’t. Places like on a jog, the fitness center, the lawn mower, etc. They’re super fun to listen to. Some are dramatized, and some are even read by the author. And of course, we would be remiss if we did not encourage you to listen to more podcasts – ours and others.

Listen Better

The art of listening can greatly expand what you know.  It will help you know the people closest to you in a deeper way and will help you understand those you serve.  You would be surprised what you can learn from even the quietest person just by listening.

Try using the phrase, “tell me more.”  Be sincere, people can sense a fake.

Fight the urge to solve their problems.

Listen with the intent to understand, nothing more.

Never use the me to switch.  This is the chance to one up the person with a similar story.

Take notes.  Even if you never look at them again it helps your brain to hold onto the information.

Last Nugget 

The greater the number of items the greater the number of combinations.  This is true for your brain.  Reading more and listening better yields a massive amount of information your brain can use to create.