“The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get old ones out. Every mind is a building filled with archaic furniture. Clean out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.”  Dee Hock, founder of Visa Credit Care       Phase Transitions and Creativity   Creativity is defined as the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others.   The key to most creativity is the usefulness of the end result. The “usefulness” of a work of art can be difficult, if...

“The future is uncertain... but this uncertainty is at the very heart of human creativity” Ilya Prigogine     How Uncertainty Can be a Good Thing (Adapted from an article by Elissa Schwartz, founder of Apercu Advisors)   Let’s imagine you’re standing in front of two doors.   You have two options.   Open Door 1 and get an ELECTRIC SHOCK.   Or choose the mystery behind Door 2.   Door 2 could be better or worse than Door 1, but you won't find out until you open it.   What do you choose?   Which door would you open?   Most folks would open Door 1.1   That's because most of us would rather have certain pain than gambling with the unknown. And that's true...

“Overworking is the black plague of the 21st century.” Richie Norton (Best selling author and entrepreneur)   Achieving Work-Life Balance (Adapted from an article by @PamelaBump)   Have you ever heard the phrase, "If you love your job, you'll never have to work again."?   Well, that myth is both false and incredibly misleading. In fact, research shows that the more passionate you are about a job, the more work you'll actually do.   The truth is, a successful career takes time, initiative, and hours of hard work. And, while some companies enable employees to successfully execute on their roles within 40 hours each week, they occasionally will need to...

Like life, uncertainty can become what you make of it — and how you approach it can make ALL the difference in what you get out of it.   Adapted from an article by Elissa Schwartz, MBA, M.Ed - Apercu Advisors LLC   How Uncertainly Can Be Good For Your Business   Let’s imagine your business in front of two doors. Two choices. Two paths.   Open Door 1 and get a business setback that is clear but manageable. Or choose the mystery behind Door 2.   Door 2 could be better or worse than Door 1, but you won't find out until you open it. What do you choose? Which door would you...

The first email was most likely sent by Ray Tomlinson in 1971. At the time, he was working on a government-funded research project that eventually became the internet. He invented a system allowing users to send messages between connected computers that were on the government system.   Queen Elizabeth II was the first head-of-state to use email in 1976. And in case we think it’s all wine and roses, the first spam email was sent in 1978.   Over the last 50 years since Ray sent his first email, the system has matured and expanded to where, in 2021, there were 319.6 billion emails...