Inspiration to learn about yourself

Via a Twitter update by Marci Segal , I came across an interesting article by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi about the creative personality. Reading the article, I learned, for example, the following 10 things: Learning point # 1 The energy of creative people is internally generated, due not least to their focused minds. Learning point # 2 People who bring about an acceptable novelty in a domain seem able to use well two opposite ways of thinking: the convergent and the divergent. Divergent thinking is often perceived as deviant by the majority, and so the creative person may feel isolated and misunderstood. Learning point # 3 Creative people combine playfulness and discipline. Learning point # 4 Creative people alternate between imagination and fantasy, and a rooted sense of reality. Learning point # 5 Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted. Learning point # 6 Creative people are humble and proud at the same time. They're usually so focused on future projects and c...

Via this posting , I came across the 1½ minute video below. scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; width:450px; height:80px">

Have you thought about that humans have mutiple intelligences – including, for example, musical intelligence, bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, spatial intelligence, interpersonal intelligence, and naturalist intelligence? You can read more about multiple intelligences here . On learntodisci.com , I found out that, in South Africa, they have a different way of playing soccer. It’s rhythmic , sometimes showy, but never boring. They call it Disci. It’s 5 soccer-based moves making up a dance that is uniquely South African. Here’s Matt in South Africa learning the Diski dance.

In this posting , I learned that, for Google, the cost of bringing in goats is comparable to hiring lawn mowers for the same job and the green benefits are clear: the goats eliminate mower emissions, reduce noise pollution, restore plant species and fertilize while grazing. An interesting initiative.

Via this posting , I came across the 1 minute video below. In the video, Dr. Donald Berwick refers to studies showing that when patients got to participate in decisions, surgery rates fell by almost 25%, and satisfaction in outcomes improved. Don Berwick #4: "Patients Make More Frugal Choices" from Century Foundation on Vimeo .

I was quite surprised as I saw this toilet on a train in Switzerland. In fact, I almost cannot believe that what is in the toilet is being flushed right onto the rails. What are your thoughts?

Via this blog posting , I came across the 7½ minute video below about the Akshaya Patra Foundation . I read that the Akshaya Patra Foundation started as a pilot project in five schools in Bangalore, feeding 1,500 children. Today, the program reaches out to more than 1 million children across India. Studying the website , I found it particularly interesting that the program has adopted a decentralized kitchen approach involving women's self-help groups in cooking and distribution of food - thereby ensuring a regular income for these women. The population of India is 1.15 billion people. 30.5% of the population are below 15 years of age. For more information about India, have a look at this presentation .