ConverStations

Quotes n Notes: Habitude # 2 - Curiosity

"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality." - Albert Einstein

Curiosity is an exploration of mind and heart. Trying something, peeking around the corner, venturing on -- this is exciting stuff for some.  And scary for others. The faint of mind, the faint of heart? Perhaps.

My hope is that in 2009, we can all live daily in the habit and attitude of curiosity.

In Marc McGunniess' recent post on Lateral Action, he looks at 10 Creative Lessons from Bowie in Berlin. Look at # 7: Trust Your Curiosity.

Dan Meyer at dy/dan admits, "My students' curiosity will make them better and smarter and more capable people in the long run.

And I would venture to say that of Scott Ginsberg's 19 Things Successful People Need to Become, no less than six of them stem from Curiosity as a habit and attitude.

Do you have The Habitudes?

My friend and partner, Angela Maiers' new book Classroom Habitudes. And Habitudes # 2?  Curiosity

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Slide: Discovery - Ready to Leap?

Photo on Flickr by SeanJ via compfight

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Quotes n Notes: Habitude # 1 - Imagination

"Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere. " - Albert Einstein

One of the challenges of problem-solving in our time is that when we search our own experiences (or schema) for the solution, we stop searching when we find the first one that's 'good-enough.'

Poor is the memory that only looks backwards. Are we asking the right questions? Are we asking enough questions?

I forget who said it (or something like it), but remember 'The one who has a dream while sleeping will awake and only remember a portion (if that). But, the one who dreams while awake is dangerous, for they may take action upon their vision.'

Do you practice the Habitude of Imagination? If so, how?  I, for one, would enjoy reading about it on your blog.

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Thank You Paul Newman - Business Advice Quotes from His Films

Image via WikipediaI haven't shed tears on a celebrity death since Dean Martin (and Kirby Puckett if you count athletes). Hearing about Paul Newman passing was sad.

Here are some quotes from his movies that translate into sound business advice:

• on Perspective: "Choose between yesterday and tomorrow." Message in a Bottle
• on Safe is Risky: "This world is so full of crap, a man's gonna get into it sooner or later whether he's careful or not." Hud
• on Commitment: "Yes or no, mister. Ain't no in between." Long Hot Summer
• on Quitting Your Job: "People like doing what they used to do, after they've stopped being able to do it." Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
• on Venture Capital: "a 25% slice of something big is better than a 100% slice of nothing. " - The Hustler
• as entreprenuer: "I have vision, and the rest of the world wears bifocals. " Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• to entrepenuers hearing their idea sucks: "Hell, kid, (if) they don't do that, you know you're not getting to 'em." The Sting

And my favorite:

• Don't sweat the small stuff: "yeah well, sometimes nothing can be a real cool hand." - Cool Hand Luke

Thanks Paul. I'll keep this in mind "...if I were you, I'd quit yappin' and start workin'!" - Cars

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Quotes n Notes: Mediocrity

"A mild-mannered message - delivered to a mild-mannered audience - will deliver mild-mannered results." Mike Wagner

In other words: Mediocrity plus Mediocrity begets Mediocrity.

Too many speakers / bloggers / teachers / preachers get stuck in the middle, trying to please everyone. The end result is lukewarm.  If they love you (your message), there exists passion.  If they hate you (your message), there exists passion.  The middle?  Pretty damn near apathy.

Kathy Sierra had this great image from her post, Be Brave or Go Home

Much of the timidity probably comes from fear. Ad Man, George Lois says, "Only with absolute fearlessness can we slay the dragons of mediocrity that invade our gardens."

In the spirit of Seth Godin's "Safe is Risky" mantra, remember that your current "safe"  boundaries were once unknown frontiers.

Be Bold!

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Lunch n' Learn with Words of Wisdom

"Maybe 25 words can move us to start changing the world." - Liz Strauss

That's the first page of this powerful presentation, a collaborative effort from the Successful Blog community:

25 Words of Work / Life Wisdom

view presentation (tags: successful-blog strauss liz project)

Some nutritious thoughts in this one.

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Lunch n Learn meets Quotes n Notes: Education Quotes Video

I skipped lunch today.  And though it isn't quite getting chocolate in my peanut butter, here's a mashup of Lunch n Learn and Quotes n Notes, edu-style:

Reading via feed? Watch the Education Quotes video on TeacherTube (est 7.5 minutes)

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Quotes n Notes: Originality

"Originality is nothing but judicious imitation." - Voltaire

"Originality is undetected plagiarism." - Dean Inge

Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan) threw a question out on Twitter last night about the ratio of originality in blog posts.  My response was something along the lines of the two quotes on this post.

"Originality = Plagiarism w/o getting caught." - @mikesansone

Thinking about what I wrote, it seems a bit cynical in belief, maybe even underhanded.

I do believe that we can take ideas we've seen or heard and build on them. SCAMPER them. It's one way I coach bloggers to keep their blog writing fresh.

One of the beauties of the conversphere (H/T to Tony Clark for that term), is the mantra for transparency and authenticity. Give credit where credit is due. And use Creative Commons.

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Quotes n Notes: Try New Things

"Anyone who has never made a mistake is someone who has never tried anything new." - Albert Einstein

For you experienced bloggers, go look at your first post. Now look at your most recent post.  Differences?  I think so.

You've probably learned:

• how to ask better questions,
• paint more vivid word pictures,
• read faster with the Skim, Scan and Save method of Feed Reading,
• found that people really do care what you have to say,
• got better with the software.

For those not yet blogging (or just getting started), you too will travel such a path...just keep at it.

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Quotes n Notes: Frustration

"I hope you become frustrated and challenged enough to push back the very barriers of your own personal limitations." Earl Reum

Ask anyone if improving their life is important (business, physical, financial, whatever) and the answer is yes, yes, YES! Ask what they did today to improve...and often you'll get, "Well... I was really busy today."

Take time to improve your life today. And if you don't have time...and you get frustrated, that's okay. It may be the storm before the calm.

Maybe it was Tom Peters who said, "Pissed off will get more things done than Knowledge."

The quote above is from Earl Reum's 'A Wish for Leaders'

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