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Marilyn Barefoot

Brainstorming for Breast Cancer

October 1, 2020 By Marilyn Barefoot Leave a Comment

Several years ago I had the honour and privilege of working with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. I was thrilled that they had decided to include so many of their stake-holders in the brainstorming session, specifically their corporate sponsors, staff, survivors, and their volunteers.

The focus of the session was to generate fresh new ideas for their ongoing fundraising initiatives.

All of the work that I do with non-profits is incredibly meaningful and rewarding, so I was very excited about being ask to help!

I arrived at their offices at the crack of dawn to set up the room, lay out all of the name tags, and make sure every tiny detail was in order. When I walked in, it felt like I was being given a huge, warm, pink hug! Everything … and I mean EVERYTHING was pink!

As the guests arrived, greeting each other with more hugs, and sipping their coffee from pink mugs, I realized that this was a very, very special ‘family’.

As the morning unfolded, the pink walls of the boardroom became covered with colorful drawings, Post-It Notes, scribbles, bits of Play-Doh, and a proliferation of fantastic, new fundraising ideas.

We laughed, we cried … and we created together!

I was astonishing by how much there was to learn about breast cancer – the research, the statistics, and the immense amount of money required to keep moving forward with finding a cure. By far the most powerful and emotional part of the day was the survivor stories.

Throughout everything I learned that day from the inspiring breast cancer family, there was one statistic that hit me hard … ‘it is estimated that approximately 1 in 8 women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime!’

Fast forward 6 months. That same statistic was forefront in my mind as I sat on a gurney watching the examining doctor put my biopsy sample in a specimen container. She placed my container on a large shiny tray with 7 others that had presumably been taken earlier that day. This now felt like I was playing a scary game of Russian roulette!

One of those 8 specimen containers was going to test positive for breast cancer.

It did, and it was mine.

The journey I embarked on over the next several months with the doctors, nurses, technicians, surgeons, volunteers, and radiologists was one of the most positive and enlightening of my life.

I saw and experienced firsthand how all of the big ideas we created helped to raise money for breast cancer, helped to fund the research, helped to purchase the equipment, helped to train the doctors, the nurses, the surgeons and the technicians. I think it even helped to purchase the juice boxes and cookies so lovingly set out in the waiting rooms by the tireless, smiling volunteers.

October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness, and raising funds to help the 1 in 8 women who will develop breast cancer during their lifetime!’

Please walk, run, donate, or support this incredible cause in any way that you can.

I am now 100% healthy and the doctors tell me that I have less than a 1% chance of the breast cancer reoccurring.

Big ideas can and do make a big difference!


Marilyn

Barefoot Brainstorming

If it’s time to ramp up your team’s innovation and collaboration abilities – we can help! Contact us today. 

For brainstorming tips, presentation and storytelling skills, or keynote speaking pointers be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. OR see us in action on YouTube and Instagram!
We would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment down below or tag us on social media.

The Dog Days of Summer … the weather and creativity.

September 8, 2020 By Marilyn Barefoot Leave a Comment

The term ‘Dog Days’ traditionally refers to a period of hot and humid weather occurring during the summer months of July and August … at least in this neck of the woods.

Now that the weather is getting slightly cooler, I wondered how it might also affect us creatively.

It’s not surprising that warm weather has positive effects on the mind, body, and soul … but does it also affect our creativity?

Studies show that not only is the human brain more mentally fit, but we are also our most creative selves when out in the warmth.

Researchers have found the ideal temperature for human creativity and a positively functioning brain is 72 degrees Fahrenheit or 22 degrees Celsius, which is just about room temperature.

When the temperature drops below the 72-degree sweet spot, people are less open-minded and creative, and their moods and brain functioning declines.

We actually lose some of our potential to be physically and mentally fit and more creative when we are in colder environments.

Researchers outfitted a group of office workers at an insurance company in Orlando, Florida, with portable temperature sensors and loaded their computers with productivity tracking software that measured total time spent typing and typing errors, among other things.

 Measurements were taken every 15 minutes for more than three weeks.

 The findings … higher temperatures (around 77 degrees Fahrenheit or 25 degrees Celsius) were associated with greater productivity than lower temperatures (around 68 degrees Fahrenheit or 20 degrees Celsius).

 Warmer workers typed 150% more and made 44% fewer mistakes than their chillier colleagues.

 The so what!! … Warm environments can help spur productivity and creativity hot streaks.

Apparently, Picasso preferred a nice 72 F/22C degree day with a slight, cool breeze!! And so did his ‘long dog of summer’!

https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/1901/picassos-sausage-dog


Marilyn

Barefoot Brainstorming

If it’s time to ramp up your team’s innovation and collaboration abilities – we can help! Contact us today. 

For brainstorming tips, presentation and storytelling skills, or keynote speaking pointers be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. OR see us in action on YouTube and Instagram!
We would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment down below or tag us on social media.

Boost creativity with the help of your dog.

August 20, 2020 By Marilyn Barefoot Leave a Comment

Cooper,Marilyn, and Norbert

The dog on your left (my right) in the picture is our dog Cooper. He is 11 years old.

The other gorgeous Golden in the picture is Norbert. He is 8 years old and is Cooper’s best dog friend.

We recently drove to Stoney Lake to visit Norbert (yup ,this is what you do as dog owners … you drive 2 hours north so your dog can visit his best friend).As we were walking through the fragrant pine forest to the lake, it actually struck me for the first time ever that dogs might help boost our creativity. I mean … is that really even possible?

I did some ‘digging’ and found out it is more than possible, it’s absolutely true. Here’s how!

Owning a dog means lots of walks and adventures.

Generally, we walk Cooper once a day and cover about 2.5 kilometres in total. We used to walk 3 times a day and cover a lot more distance, but now Cooper is an old guy with lots of arthritis!

Walking is great for creativity! According to a recent study creative thinking improves while a person is walking and for a period of time shortly thereafter. The authors of the study found that walking outside in the fresh air helped produce twice as many creative responses compared to sitting down. The creative juices continued to flow even after returning to the office and sitting down, back at your desk. The upshot is that creative output improves as does creative quality.

If you bring your dog in to your pet-friendly office, inevitably you will have to take the time to let your dog outside on a walk. These extra brief moments of activity can help keep the creative juices flowing throughout the day. Taking breaks to play tug-o-war or play ball can help to increase the quality of your work by allowing you to come back to your task with a fresh mindset. Plus, getting out of the office and getting some exercise and fresh air can increase your dopamine and endorphins.

Also, the presence of a dog in an office sparks conversations among employees, increasing creativity and positive outcomes.

Finally, having pets in the office (especially the CEO’s office) makes the environment less formal.

Dogs aren’t just good for creativity, they can help improve productivity too.

When a problem arises, it’s hard to stay trapped in a negative mindset when there’s a cute bundle of fur snoring on the floor next to you.

Research tells us that people who describe their homes as cluttered exhibit greater depression and fatigue, diminished coping skills, and increased difficulty transitioning from work to home compared to people who view their place of residence more positively.


Marilyn

Barefoot Brainstorming

If it’s time to ramp up your team’s innovation and collaboration abilities – we can help! Contact us today. 

For brainstorming tips, presentation and storytelling skills, or keynote speaking pointers be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. OR see us in action on YouTube and Instagram!
We would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment down below or tag us on social media.

Stuff ??!!

July 30, 2020 By Marilyn Barefoot Leave a Comment

My father dearly loved and adored George Carlin!!

This routine about STUFF was one of his all-time favourites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac

As my husband and I were literally vacuuming the garage floor last weekend … yup … we did that … I started thinking about how organizing our stuff during the pandemic has made us feel so much better!!

Not only better, but more CREATIVE!!

It turns out it’s really a thing!!

Physical surroundings drastically affect our mood, and our creative thinking.

Statistics say that workplace mess reduces our brain activity, and can negatively affect our work.

Being organized plays a crucial role in creative thinking. It literally allows us to better organize our ideas.

What I didn’t realize until it happened, was that the more our space/the garage was organized and decluttered, the more I thought of things I wanted to do!

Making the space around us clutter free, made space in my mind to create!

When you have less organizing to do in your home, the more physical space you have, but it also opens up space in your mind.

Clearing the physical clutter (including vacuuming the garage floor), also cleared the clutter from my mind.

So what about the idea that creative people are messy??

In the process of making something, there can be chaos, for sure! But for creativity to thrive, I believe the surrounding space needs to be organized for ideas to come to fruition.

A dishevelled environment can halt our creative performance, largely by diminishing our well-being.

Research tells us that people who describe their homes as cluttered exhibit greater depression and fatigue, diminished coping skills, and increased difficulty transitioning from work to home compared to people who view their place of residence more positively.

The problem with being stressed out by a messy environment is that the mess tends to remain in place, thereby leading to constant cortisol production!!!

AND, there’s more!!!!

Another consequence of mess-induced stress is weight gain.

According to several sources, people with unkempt homes are 77% more likely to be overweight than those who reside in organized surroundings.

When you declutter your physical environment, you have more mental bandwidth to make better decisions, set priorities, and create space for new creativity, possibilities, and ideas to come to you.

Do you get more creative in a decluttered space? Have you recently vacuumed your garage floor? J Please let me know!! I would love to hear from you!


Marilyn

Barefoot Brainstorming

If it’s time to ramp up your team’s innovation and collaboration abilities – we can help! Contact us today. 

For brainstorming tips, presentation and storytelling skills, or keynote speaking pointers be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. OR see us in action on YouTube and Instagram!
We would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment down below or tag us on social media.

Around the world in 80 hotel toiletry bottles

July 17, 2020 By Marilyn Barefoot Leave a Comment

Like many, I have been doing my best not to spend money during the pandemic.

This has led to some very interesting behaviour that is reminiscent of being raised by parents who grew up in the great depression.

I never realized how much their behaviour had an impact on me, until we faced our own version of the depression … COVID-19.

I know I’m not the only one who has a collection of toiletries from various hotels. I’ll even get excited to stay at a specific hotel if I really like the brand of toiletries they use. 

From my travels over the years, I’ve amassed many freezer size Ziploc® bags full of stolen hotel toiletries.

Personal and full disclosure … when travelling with colleagues, we loved to play a game we called ‘Raid the Maid’.

The goal was to hit the housekeeping cart parked outside the room while the staff was inside the room working.

Points would be awarded based on the size of the haul you brought back!!

And, if it was a hotel that had those tiny little rubber ducks for the bath … well it was totally game on! Rubber ducks were worth a sh*t ton of points!

So when the pandemic hit and we all went into lockdown, I decided it was the perfect time to save money by working my way through the prized collection. On the first day of saving money in the shower, I sorted them like a kid returning from Trick or Treating!

When I pull out a new bottle, I try and remember what hotel I got it from. Let me tell you, it’s like travelling around the world every time you inhale the scent!

https://barefootbrainstorming.com/blog/tapping-into-the-olfactory-thought-centre-in-brainstorming/

And to my surprise and delight, there are some well-known brands in that bag of raided treasures … like Fresh, L’Occitane, Bliss, Aveda, and C.O. Bigelow. I rationed those because they are just so delicious!!

I understand that for environmental reasons, most hotels have stopped supplying the tiny toiletries, and have moved to large dispensers.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am a huge environmentalist … but I am now increasingly saddened as I place another empty little hotel-sized bottle in my blue recycling bin! It feels like I might never travel ‘there’ again … particularly now!

Of course, Disney being Disney, has solved the problem of people being disappointed about not being able to bring home the toiletries. You can get your Disney fix at home because they now sell them at the hotel gift shops, and from the shopDisney website. The same goes for the Bliss products used at W Hotels.

Really, what’s the fun in that?

There is no skill or points awarded when you buy the stuff!!


Marilyn

Barefoot Brainstorming

If it’s time to ramp up your team’s innovation and collaboration abilities – we can help! Contact us today. 

For brainstorming tips, presentation and storytelling skills, or keynote speaking pointers be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. OR see us in action on YouTube and Instagram!
We would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment down below or tag us on social media.

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.

July 13, 2020 By Marilyn Barefoot Leave a Comment

The brilliant humourist Mark Twain receives credit, but I have been unable to find a solid citation.

The observation has been attributed to several other prominent humourists including: Josh Billings (pseudonym of Henry Wheeler Shaw), Artemus Ward (pseudonym of Charles Farrar Browne), Kin Hubbard (pen name of Frank McKinney Hubbard), and Will Rogers. Yet, it is unlikely then any of them said it. The creator remains anonymous based on current evidence.

It’s all about our tendency to believe that what we think is fact when unfortunately it’s just opinion, and as an opinion it may not be correct. 

Most importantly, when we act based on a belief something is fact and it turns out to not only be opinion but wrong, this is when things can often go spectacularly wrong.

Perspective is everything!

Here is the most perfect example I have ever found!!!

Enjoy The Cookie Thief!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oioZqbGEzTQ


Marilyn

Barefoot Brainstorming

If it’s time to ramp up your team’s innovation and collaboration abilities – we can help! Contact us today. 

For brainstorming tips, presentation and storytelling skills, or keynote speaking pointers be sure to follow Barefoot Brainstorming on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. OR see us in action on YouTube and Instagram!
We would love to hear from you! Leave us a comment down below or tag us on social media.

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