If We Refreshed Ourselves?

What If We Refreshed Ourselves?

I don’t know about you, but I generally find this time of year a little challenging. Summer vacation is already a distant memory, and we have many weeks to go until the fresh start offered at the New Year. It doesn’t help that we’re losing daylight hours by each day.

This is why, this time of year I am especially interested in looking to people, things, and places that can serve as inspiration to me. I would like to share some of my most recent findings with you here.

Got 5 minutes?
Sometimes, in between meetings, strategy sessions, and conference calls I take a break and go to Brain Pickings. Maria Popova, a self-described “interestingness-gatherer” curates what could be described as a cabinet of curiosities for the digital age. A quick perusal of the site can provide a wealth of fascinating information, from excerpts on the daily routines of famous writers, to a constantly updated, esoteric bibliography, to the 100 ideas that changed graphic design, Brain Pickings is a wonderful way to get a small dose of inspiration.

Got 20 minutes?
Over the years, TED talks (and their open-source spinoffs), have received their fair share of criticism. Indeed, one can argue (as the Harvard Business Review did) that there are too many TED talks of varying quality, or that TED has fallen prey to an Internet meme obsession, one can even look to the various TEDx speakers who have knowingly “pranked” naïve organizers by giving a bonkers talk.

This said, I still defend TED as a great way for intellectuals, business leaders, and inventors to make the case for their ideas and for what they believe in. Although I cannot recommend every TED talk here are a few I return to, because I find them simply inspiring.

In 2011 JR, a French street artist received the TED Prize. In his humorous acceptance speech, he explains how the art that he does changed him from being an adventure-seeking city kid, to a world traveller who uses his urban canvas to interact with the public. This talk is beautiful, enriching, and inspiring.

I love the above talk because it speaks to a problem germane to our age. Philosopher Alain de Botton, discusses status anxiety and “career crises”. With intelligence and clarity, he introduces the concept of “job snobbery” and status envy as the consequence of our superficially “equal” society. De Botton deflates positive self-esteem messaging, the problems of believing in a meritocratic society, and makes a case for finding real pleasure in our work.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the groundbreaking talk given by Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg that spawned the Lean In movement. Positing that the problem in the lack of female leadership came in part from women who were too self-censoring, she went on to outline 3 pearls of wisdom for professional women: sit at the table, make your (domestic) partner a real partner, and don’t leave before you leave.
Got an afternoon?

When I have the chance on the weekend, I try to head to my favorite bookstore. I find enormous pleasure losing myself in the aisles, leafing through new releases and rediscovering classics. It is thanks to recommendations by the staff at bookstores that I have come across fabulous new novels, sociologists who have changed the way I’ve looked at my profession, and gorgeous art books. I would never describe myself as a Luddite, however I do think that to be truly refreshed and inspired, it’s important to interact with the physical world and physical spaces. A Sunday afternoon spent in a bookstore can do a world of good for the rest of the coming week. I hope these ideas refreshed you and that you can put them to good use during these Fall doldrums!

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