Zugzwang

"The position that arise when your next move, any next move, is liable to lead to disaster."


I found this penned next to my nightstand. I have no idea what book I lifted it from. I know it is a chess term, but I don't read chess books. I think it was an investment book. THAT would be appropriate! I'm sure that many men are familiar with this term--it's certainly a place many find themselves in arguments with the female persuasion. ; >

The point of the post is not to tell you about Zugzwang (but you can work it into conversation at your next social event), but rather to highlight the importance of writing odd bits that you encounter throughout your day/night that engage your intellect or quite simply amuse you. Pen/paper by the bed is enormously helpful. Keeping some means, be it digital or manual, to write down those things that "strike" your fancy is important to this process. If you don't do so already, then I would challenge you to try this discipline for a week. Then put your written bits away for a week. Then look at it later. You might be surprised. I will guarantee you will have written something down that is no longer part of your conscious thought.

Have you heard of the book How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci: Seven Steps to Genius Every Day by Michael Gelb?

http://www.amazon.com/How-Think-Like-Leonardo-Vinci/dp/0440508274/sr=8-1/qid=1169352141/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-0475505-6236832?ie=UTF8&s=books

Lifted from Amazon:

Gelb says there are seven critical principles that need to be followed for success, whether you're learning a new language, studying to be a gourmet chef, or just hoping to be more effective on the job:

• Curiosita: An insatiably curious approach to life.
• Dimonstratzione: A commitment to test knowledge through experience.
• Sensazione: The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to clarify experience.
• Sfumato: A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox, and uncertainty.
• Arte/Scienza: The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination ("whole-brain thinking").
• Corporalita: The cultivation of ambidexterity, fitness, and poise.
• Connessione: A recognition and appreciation for the connectedness of all things and phenomena; "systems thinking."

If you are looking for a book that will give you another way to think about YOU and how to develop some of the above, I would recommend this one. In fact, it was this book that inspired me to always have pen and paper in hand (though it has become a fetish...and I know where all the pen and paper fetish sites are on the internet!).

Why not give it a try?