How often do you dream?

Interpretation is not on the agenda for today; this is answering a more basic question. Is dreaming at night a common occurrence for you? Our dreams are a good indication of our physical state and quality of sleep. A long-standing indication of manliness has been the ability to thrive on as little sleep as possible. This mindset has been pervasive in the movies, military and culture at large. Sleep has been stigmatized as weakness or laziness.

Data continues to build refuting this perspective. Between scientific studies and the growing bio-hacking community, a realization that the body is repairing and the mind is very active during this downtime. I worked on an average of 6 hours of sleep for years and my dreams were non-existent. I participated in a couple sleep studies and made sleep a priority. I have sought to get 8 hours per night and vivid dreams have returned on a near nightly basis. Dreams haven't delivered the plans to the next iPhone or cure for cancer, but they have provided a barometer for how I am caring for my body and providing what it needs to thrive. 

Artist and author Elle Luna (check her out on Instagram @elleluna) realigned her life after realizing she had gone a few weeks without dreaming. Dreams had been a primary source of inspiration for her work and without proper sleep, the spigot for her fountain of creation was shut. You and I must be expressing our creativity through our lives, the things we touch and the dreams we pursue. Dream well, awake and achieve.   

How do you rate the importance of dreaming? What dreams do you remember? What period of your life did you have an active dream life? How can you enhance your nighttime dreaming?

How many questions did you ask last week?

40,000 questions in three years. Harvard child psychologist, Paul Harris, determined that children two to five years of age ask about 40K questions and once school starts, the decline begins. The Right Question Institute found that only about 25% of 18 year-olds use questioning on a regular basis. The need to look competent can further limit our questioning once we are engaged in the workforce. The esoteric language of most workplaces includes what feels like a million acronyms that are used in sentences in what sound like alphabet soup if transcribed. I have sat for briefs and not asked for the acronyms to be spelled out thinking I am the only one that was in the dark, only to be asked by someone else on the trip back to the office about the meaning of several acronyms. A similar occurrence has happened with an auditorium full of people when the speaker asks if a particular topic needs an explanation and a single brave soul asks for the explanation to the collective sigh of most of the participants.

What happened between five years old and now? Why did we fall off the questioning cliff? Over the last couple years, classmates do not appreciate my enthusiasm for a topic as I would ask the professor additional questions requiring additional discussion. Generally, I can feel the heat of the stares on my neck, wishing I would just shut-up with the questions. The professor would engage in conversation because there are generally only a few students that will ask questions. I have been known to ask one or two too many questions and frustrate my kids about evening plans, friends or plans for the future. By my count, I am sure it has only happened once.

Paul Sloane posits that asking questions is the single most important habit for innovative thinkers. Mr. Sloane quotes Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, as saying "we run this company on questions, not answers.” If our goal is to embrace the future or be innovative in our lives then asking questions need to be a part of our plan. So, what do you think?

Going Further: When did you ask lots of questions? If that has changed, why? How do you handle being asked multiple questions? What prevents you from asking more questions? What other questions should be asked?

Who are the creatives among you?

You can't miss them, right? They are those people that have a particular style, their hair has a dash of the rainbow and a mass of braids or their dark and brooding ways prove they are a poet on the verge of discovery. My first poetry slam had a mix of what I expected, but the other half did not fit the narrow picture I had imagined. This other half surprised me; the straight-laced school teacher, the mid-forty-something body builder and that extreme introvert from Norfolk Virginia. This experience had two effects on me; the first was to challenge my stereotypes of who writes poetry and the second was to give me a glimmer of hope that there was a trace of creativity coursing through these uninitiated veins.

Ramon sold me my cell phone upgrade today and during the conversation I learned that he is a creative. Believe it or not, selling cell phones was not his lifelong dream. I know, I know, I should have warned you to sit down for that news. He would prefer to be impacting the world through his writing, his guitar, and mixing music. There was a creative, right in front of me; the logo on his shirt just distracted me from who he really is. Our conversation inspired each of us to redouble our efforts to produce content. Shouldn't this be the result of our interactions with others; to leave them better than we found them? 

Writing this post has had a couple more effects; the first is to prompt you to have the courage to do a bit of naval gazing and determine how you might be creative; then take the first step towards cultivation of this dormant talent. The second effect is for you to express your gratitude to those around you who are expressing their creative genius. These souls are creating something to be put into the world and risk criticism and humiliation. Even if it doesn't strongly appeal to you, they have dared to push back against the resistance that says they are a failure and their art is not worthy. This bravery is worth encouraging.

What is the creative stereotype you default to? How do you encourage your inner creative? How does your definition of creative expand beyond just the stereotypical arts? Who are creatives you appreciate and what about them appeals to you?

How are you going to play in the next week?

If you think you perform at your best without play, you are wrong. Play allows the mind to make connections that it doesn't have the opportunity to make during our day-to-day work. The mental activity of planning and strategies during a game of chess can inspire new ways to negotiate the business deal. The dynamic nature of staying on a surfboard while the ocean heaves energizes the entire body. The ability to laugh at yourself when you make a bad decision and lose the board game is a healthy reminder that winning isn't everything and you will not always be number one. The camaraderie of friends playing bridge and the smiles that are exchanged between team members when the opponents nervous tick is discovered, builds great memories.

To master, a new game can take you into a new world and introduce you to an entire sub-culture that you didn't know existed. I am looking forward to a bit of slack-lining over the next week and will confirm I have much to be humble about. At best, I can get a step or two on the one-inch wide ribbon before losing my balance and shot away from the line. The acrobats at Cirque Du Soleil should have no fear of losing a job to me.

Any season is a good time to play and the long days of summer provide plenty of time to play and summer vacations provide the opportunity. For years I have forfeit many vacation days as I sat behind the desk trying to climb the ladder. I failed to realize that play is a part of success and should be a part of the plan, for both me and the employees. I have not been as effective or creative because I thought the boss wanted my butt in the chair. What the boss needed was a creative problem solver that was not afraid to try and fail. Play helps build that framework.

What are some of your favorite ways to play? Where do you like to play? How do you encourage play at home and work for the family and co-workers? What lies have you believed about play? How can you introduce more play into your routine?