Shake That Brain!® Solutions Volume 1, Issue 10

To help you Shake That Brain! and discover solutions for maximum profit.

IN THIS ISSUE:

1. SOLVING THE WRONG PROBLEM (Cell Phones, Part II)
2. TWO TRUE STORIES
3. NOTHING ELSE

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Last month (Issue 10) I noted that recent legislation to curb hand-held cell phone use while driving was entirely wrongheaded. As researcher David Strayer puts it: "We've noted no safety advantage for using a hands-free versus a hand-held phone. It's conversation that drives [the negative] effect. When you're talking, you're impaired."

You may be "IMPAIRED," in fact, in more ways than you realize:

Whether it's your cell phone, lap top or BlackBerry that's got you by the wireless hairs, what's at risk is the free-floating, creative, discovery-inducing YOU. The solution? Schedule yourself an appointment to:

"Unplug, discharge, stop and smell the roses."

You'll recharge your creative battery and get yourself a fresh point of view. You'll also come up … with better solutions.

TRUE STORY 1:

Back when I was a fledgling writer working out of my apartment in New York, and I'd get stumped at the keyboard, I'd move to the terrace, leaving my typewriter behind and settling down in an Adirondack chair for a much needed change of scenery.

Over the years, I discovered that if I went out to the terrace with a pad and pencil, I hardly ever came up with a solution to whatever problem I'd gone there to solve; but if I went out to there terrace WITHOUT a pad and pencil, I'd invariably find my solution. Then I'd race back inside and write it down before I forgot it. It was if I had tricked my mind into thinking I was on vacation. Once on "vacation," it seems, my mind could unwind enough to reveal certain insights.

Einstein said he often got his best ideas while shaving - before his mind started "working" for the day.

Let your problems go for a while … and the answer may just come to you.

TRUE STORY 2:

I recently conducted a "Solve It Now!" workshop where the question posed by this group of small business owners was: "How can we find the time to do strategic thinking?"

Working to come up with "the worst solution possible," we drew up a list of all the "worst" ideas we could think of - from "Disconnect all the phones" to "Clone ourselves." Yet one "worst solution" drew the strongest reaction - "Take a vacation" threw the room into laughter.

"TAKE A VACATION!?!?"

In fact, "Take a vacation" - or just a two or three day retreat from work - soon revealed itself to be an incredibly SMART and USEFUL idea. The moral of the story? Having taken a "vacation" from pursuing a great solution, we landed ourselves smack dab in the middle of a REALLY great idea.
Finally, if you can't find the time to get away - even for a day - at least do this:
http://www.shakethatbrain.com/cards/apr7-375654838.html

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This newsletter has been brought to you by Joel Saltzman.

Joel is a speaker, facilitator, consultant, and creator of the "Shake That Brain!®" system for Business Solutions: for building better teams, increasing sales, and improving the health and vitality of your business and personal life. To learn how Joel can help your organization, click on: http://shakethatbrain.com/wow

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JOEL SALTZMAN
Shake That Brain!® http://shakethatbrain.com/wow
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