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| Vol.3.83 | |
Accelerating Past Weaknessby Vince PoscenteAuthor of The Ant and the Elephant, Invinceable Principles and The Age of Speed My staff makes fun of me - for good reason. When Kitra was hired to do the books she was warned. "When you show Vince the financial reports the glazed look will go over his face like a velvet curtain at the end of a movie." All entrepreneurs must know numbers if they ever plan to succeed. Yet numbers have the same effect on me as sipping a Chamomile - Codeine - Opium cocktail while reclining in a beanbag watching reruns of the Price is Right - with the sound off. Despite my arithmetical shortcomings the business has done well. But what good is "well" when one can do better? Especially with the necessity of fiscal responsibility. (In other words, I got away with it for years but now I have no choice. The solution had to be found or I'd be asking if you'd like fries with your burger.) So what's a Numerophobiac to do? Friend and source of inspiration, Tim Durkin referred me to research on how movement plays an essential role in learning. The first was Carla Hannaford's Smart Moves. Written predominantly for child learning there are adult applications. The second is research by Paul Dennison who states, "Movement is the door to learning."
Dr. Hannaford carefully outlines the science behind the mind body connection. What was most interesting is the section on Dennison's Brain Gym® program which is a physical exercise program comprised of movements that effectively "activate and build new neural pathways for improved cognitive readiness and academic performance." In simplest terms The Brain Gym is a series of movements, like crossing your right hand to your left knee, then your left hand to your right knee, before you do a math equation. For math brainiacs this is unnecessary. But for the likes of me, what do I have to lose except a mental vacation while Kitra talks? An extreme example in Hannaford's books was about an 11 year-old Down's Syndrome child who worked with a therapist to match 1 to 10 flashcards with the same numbers on a table. For three months he failed to match the numbers. This left the boy and the therapist completely frustrated. After 15 minutes of Dennison's Laterality Repatterning exercise, the student immediately (physically and verbally) matched all the numbers. Using other exercises in the following days resulted in a massive accelerated learning. For grins this morning, I tried some of Dennison's techniques (Cross Crawl, Brain Buttons and Hook-Ups) then read the financial section of the Wall Street Journal. To my delight, the numbers made better sense and the articles came to life. It was as if stadium lights powered on in my brain. My next step? Surprise Kitra and our dreaded P & L weekly meeting with my new and improved, perky math-a-lackalicous - number - lovin self. Until next week it's full speed ahead,
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© 2010 Vince Poscente. All Rights Reserved. |
