Phil Zimbardo: What It Takes To Be A Hero

Call to action: Become a hero.

1. Anyone can be a hero
2. Most heroes are Ordinary People doing Extraordinary Acts
3. Effective heroes work in a networked team
4. Heroism is a journey you can commit to.
4.1. Become a "Hero-in-Waiting"
4.2. Become a "Hero-in-Training"
4.3. Daily deeds of service to others strengthens heroic virtues

Become a hero. http://www.heroicimagination.org/

Jennifer Lin with a Piano Improv

Call to action: Master the components you know.

You'd want to watch from 16:55 where she does the improvisation with a bit of assistance from no less than Goldie Hawn. I believe that creativity in anything comes from knowing and then mastering the basic components and then looking for ways in combining and connecting all those components. In literature, authors use words, poets use imagery, painters use color, musicians use notes, videographers use light, animators use pixels, game designers use game dynamics, chefs use taste and texture. It goes on and on. Most artists I know cannot explain their art or talent. I think it's time they do.

Here's one of the books that has helped me in every aspect of my life. The Artist's Way at Work: Riding the Dragon. It's possibly one of my favorite books ever.

VS Ramachandran on Brain Powers

Call to action: Explore our humanity through science.

Ramachandran explains 3 things:

1. Visual recognition is linked with emotions. (Sure.)
2. Our brain learns from visual cues. (Fascinating with the phantom limb cure!)
3. We are all synesthetes. (I'd like to develop this power.)

I'm pretty sure his 2011 book, The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human will be as captivating.