POWER UP YOUR MIND : LEARN FASTER AND WORK SMARTER | FULL BOOK | PDF DOWNLOAD ||
Contents :
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Part 1 Get READY to Learn: Going beneath the surface 6
1 Unpacking Your Mind 8
Taking your mind out of its box 9
Your three brains 11
Your divided brain 13
Close-up on your brain 16
Five key principles 18
Brain or mind? 21
Brain food 22
Laughter, music, and sleep 25
Nearly unpacked 28
A day in the life of Annie’s brain 29
Unpacking your mind—in a nutshell 33
2Getting Ready to Learn 34
Checking your emotional readiness 35
Curiosity and emotional state 36
A hierarchy of emotional needs 38
Reading your own moods 39
An emotionally confusing world 40
Raising self-esteem 43
Learned optimism and the three Ps 46
The joined-up revolution 48
Mens sana in corpore sano 49
Brain gym 50
Getting to the spiritual dimension 51
A new sixth sense? 53
Getting ready to learn—in a nutshell 54
3 Switching On Your Mind 55
Understanding your fundamental drives 57
Rewarding your own learning 59
A formula for motivation to learn 61
Motivation and the mind 63
Getting the big picture 64
Balancing challenge and threat 64
The importance of where you learn 67
Who you learn with 68
Getting your learning environment ready 69
The pressures of life 71
Overcoming barriers to learning 72
Switching on your mind—in a nutshell 75
Part II GO For It: Becoming a competent learner 76
4 Learnacy 78
Understanding yourself as a learner 81
Learning to use new techniques: the 5Rs 82
Learning about learning 83
The learning cycle 84
Different types of learning 86
Learnacy—in a nutshell 88
5 Understanding Yourself as a Learner 89
How you take in information 90
Dealing with information 95
Working out your learning style 96
Learning styles and information preferences 97
Learning styles and meetings 98
Understanding yourself as a learner—in a nutshell 101
6 Resourcefulness 102
Getting the big picture 103
Tuning in your mind 105
Breaking down your learning 106
Learning by imitation 108
Learning online 112
Extending your range 114
Resourcefulness—in a nutshell 116
7 Remembering 117
Understanding how your memory works 118
Types of memory 119
Key memory principles 121
Memory pegs 126
The importance of where you are 128
Muttering 129
Making regular deposits in your memory bank 130
Your sleeping mind 131
Remembering—in a nutshell 133
8 Resilience 134
Persistence 136
Being an adventurer 137
Dealing with difficulties 139
Handling confusion 141
Resilience—in a nutshell 143
9 Harnessing Your Creativity 144
Inspiration, ideas, and learning 147
The characteristics of creative people 149
The value of ideas 150
Multiple intelligences 152
The multiple intelligence workplace 158
Barriers to creativity 160
Making connections 163
Creative thinking 169
A world of possibility 179
Harnessing your creativity—in a nutshell 181
10 The Case for Learning at Work 182
Six reasons it pays to learn 184
The case for learning at work—in a nutshell 187
Part III STEADY As You Go: Putting learning into practice 188
11 Living and Learning 190
Putting learning into action 190
Change and the brain 192
Living and learning—in a nutshell 194
12Reflectiveness 195
The science of reflecting 197
The craft of reflecting 198
Making reflection normal 203
Overcoming the barriers to reflecting 204
A reflective world 207
Reflectiveness—in a nutshell 209
13 Responsiveness 210
The feelings of change 212
Responding to change 215
Responsive learning 217
Responsiveness—in a nutshell 219
14 Balancing Your Life 220
A life balance quiz 223
Controlling stress 226
A different kind of life planning 233
Balancing your life—in a nutshell 240
15 Making Time for Learning 241
Making learning normal 241
Why you need a learning practitioner 243
Making a personal learning action plan 245
Making time for learning—in a nutshell 248
Part IV Useful Information 249
An A–Z of brain-based approaches to life and work 250
Troubleshooting 253
Resources 258
Index 261
Acknowledgments
THIS BOOK COULD NOT HAVE BEEN WRITTEN WITHOUT THE LOVING
support of my wife, Henrietta, who read every page of the manu-
script and helped me to say what I meant, nor without the many
practical insights I have gained from my son, Thomas.
I am particularly grateful for all those who have allowed me to
interview them in depth: Sir Bob Reid, friend and one of the most
experienced business leaders I know; Joyce Taylor, Managing Director
of Discovery Networks Europe; Lord Marshall, Chairman of British
Airways; Neil Chambers, Director of London’s Natural History
Museum; Will Hutton, Chief Executive of the Industrial Society,
author, and ex-Fleet Street Editor; Hilary Cropper, Chief Executive of
the FI Group plc; Chris Mellor, Group Managing Director of Anglian
Water; Zoe Van Zwanenberg, Chief Executive of the Scottish
Leadership Foundation; Jayne-Anne Gadhia, Managing Director of
Virgin One Account; Sir Michael Bichard, Permanent Secretary at
the Department for Education and Employment; and Professor Amin
Rajan, author, strategist, and Chief Executive of Create.
A number of people kindly read the manuscript and offered
me excellent advice: Dr Peter Honey, Managing Director of Peter
Honey Learning; John Grant, Co-Founder of St Luke’s and now
Owner Manager of The John Grant; Maryjo Scrivani and Michael
Joseph, Co-Directors of Partners in Learning; Mike Leibling,
Director of Trainset and formerly of Saatchi & Saatchi; Mark
Watson, Managing Director of Purple Works; and Professor Bob
Fryer, Assistant Vice-Chancellor of Southampton University and
the chief architect of Britain’s strategy for lifelong learning. Toby
Greany and Michelle Wake at the Campaign for Learning; Akber
Pandor, Head of Learning at KPMG; and Nicholas Brealey and Sue
Coll, my excellent publishers, have been particularly helpful with
the structure and title of the book and with many useful ideas.In shaping my thoughts I have benefited enormously from
those with whom I have worked and come into contact in the last
few years: Simon Greenly, Chairman of the Campaign for Learning;
Dr. Javier Bajer, Chief Executive of the Talent Foundation; Professor
Guy Claxton, author and thinker about lifelong learning; Arie de
Geus, author and management expert; Charles Handy, author and
management guru; Tony Buzan, author and Chairman of the Brain
Trust; Sir Christopher Ball, Chancellor of Derby University and
Founding Patron of the Campaign for Learning; Colin Rose,
Managing Director of Accelerated Learning Systems, author, and
inspirational thinker; Alistair Smith, inspirational trainer, writer,
and Director of Alite; Jim Smith and Andrea Spurling, Co-Directors
of Bamford Taggs; Ian Windle, Managing Director of Celemi Ltd;
Professor Susan Greenfield, eminent scientist, broadcaster, and
author; and all those not mentioned here whose ideas have helped
me develop mine.
Most recently, I have been particularly stimulated by a series
of seminars held at the Royal Institution and organized by the
Lifelong Learning Foundation. If I have made any mistakes in my
interpretation of current neuroscience, I hope my new scientific
friends will forgive me and help me to correct the errors for subse-
quent editions.
And finally, thanks go to my amazing team at the Campaign
for Learning, who have been a constant source of motivation and
inspiration to me for the last four years.
Post a Comment