Watching for clever ideas as you move around your world is important, but so is listening for clever ideas. At least a third of us learn best through hearing, but everyone can attend to sounds. To quote the entertainer I hear on the subway today, “Our lives are songs, so enjoy the music.” Western education doesn’t emphasize listening skills. It’s “Reading, Writing, and ‘Ritmatic,” but nothing about how to be attentive to what you hear. The appreciation for oral transmission of knowledge is fading. Calling students to learn with a bell permeates many cultures from the Confucian times when teachers rang an ornate bell to summon their students to the school bell that teachers rang outside the little red school house on the American prairie in pioneer times. So, when you travel, when you walk around, even when you on in a car, train, plane, or bus, listen for clever ideas. I heard them in the Zurich airport when the cow bells were ringing as I transited between terminals an

On the occasion of Gay Pride Day even banks encourage to just be you. The nearly 50 years of often painful struggle for the LGBT movement underscores how it's not always easy – for the individual or the society preferring to keep with the old ways. Even today the New York City parade took over my neighborhood requiring an hour to cross the street to get home. Yes, it’s a clever idea to focus an honest eye to who you are at your most basic and express that even when it's difficult. Different makes many uncomfortable so often you have to time the revelations of your honest eye so others can hear. And see the benefit on acknowledging differences. This Is true for females as they've risen to power in organizations and for those of minority religions working in intolerant organizations. It's a clever idea to use the “Do – Pause” model when you're acting on your honest eye. Try expressing what you see softly, then pause a second and consciously gauge reactions. Should you continu

It’s one thing to have a clever idea, but the world probably won’t notice unless it’s at the right place at the right time. The ultimate cleverness is being there where and when wanted. One example is the umbrella street vendors in Manhattan who appear only when it’s raining. I spied this display of car deodorizers was only 10% of the variants on this clever idea in the waiting lobby of the Riverhead car wash. Every car owner has to wait there while the car is vacuumed, hooked up to go through the line where spraying, soaping, and polishing occur. The people who spend the $25+ for a car wash are self-selected to be people who have pride in keeping a car clean and have a car where that’s worthwhile. They are the ones most likely to also want a sweet-smelling interior. So whether you want vanilla, springtime freshness, or just simple deodorizing, it’s there when you also have your wallet out. by Dr Sabra Brock, co-founder of Idea Spies

Being alert to clever ideas is fairly easy when you’re on vacation. Isn’t experiencing the new a reason most of us endure many hours in airports and planes? That curiosity is a very human characteristic and one of our secrets of survival as a species. Training yourself to watch and listen for everyday clever ideas can make life so much richer. After all, vacation time is less than 10% of a life. As I watched the ticker tape parade for the American Women’s Soccer Team, I was intrigued by the important part that the New York Sanitation Department played in the parade. Not only were their trucks decorated to “march” in the parade, but also dozens of workers stood ready with brushes, brooms, and blowers. Cleaning up tons of paper from a busy urban street is time consuming; and the quicker it’s done, the faster the major artery is open for business. Being alert everyday serves the dual purpose of creating a safer personal environment as well. You can practice everyday alertnes

It’s a clever idea to be aware of where you are from moment to moment, not just your immediate environment but also how you’re thinking and feeling about it. The focus can be as simple as tasting, really tasting the food you’re having for lunch. I once went through an exercise where students were asked to spend 60 seconds eating a raisin, a single raisin. Amazing how much there is to absorb first, just in looking at the raisin, the subtle variations in color and texture of the surface. And most raisins look different as you rotate from back to front (if a raisin can be considered to have a front and a back). If you use your imagination, you can imagine the grape the raisin once was, where it grew, how many siblings on clump. There’s even more to experience as you slowly taste the raisin and chew it. Differences from the front to the back of your tongue. I could go on, but the whole exercise is meant to illustrate a mindful approach to an everyday experience. The art of mindf

Do you remember the children’s game called “I Spy”? Or did you play it with your children on interminable car trips? It’s sometimes called “I Spy with my little eye.” The idea is that one person gives clues about what he or she has spied until the partner guesses the object. It’s entertaining and teaches the power of observation. Some ways to begin are to say, “I spy something that begins with an ‘m,’ or hear something that sounds like a bell, or I spy something purple.” The “spy” can’t change the object once started. Once the object is guessed, the person with the correct answer becomes the spy. The next time you’re our of your usual environment, think about what you’d choose to “spy.” What would confound your listeners at least for a while, and what clues would you use for the game? Being able to assume the “naïve eye” is key to successful field observation in anthropology. When a scholar goes into a new culture to observe, this is the stan