The Soule Entrepreneurial Institute
 

It is possible to become 66% smarter by using simple mental simulation techniques.

Brain scans show that when people imagine a flashing light, they activate the visual area of the brain; and when they imagine someone tapping on their skin, they activate the tactile areas. A review of thirty-five studies featuring 3,214 participants showed that mental practice alone - sitting quietly, without moving, and picturing yourself performing a task successfully from start to finish- improves performance significantly. Overall, mental practice alone produced about two thirds of the benefits of actual physical practice.

Think about how much idle time you spend each day.  Time spent acting is a fraction of the time we spend waiting for that moment. Instead of just watching TV, imagine what's going to happen next. Instead of merely sitting in the car on the highway, imagine who you are going to talk to that day and what you are going to say to them. The more visualization you do the smarter you get. Some of the best visualizers can predict what people are going to say, what happens at the end of a complicated movie, and yes, solve complex mathematical equations. 


Mental simulation is a simple technique that you may already use. Mental simulation is the reason people use bathing or showering as a brainstorming technique. Bathing takes away distractions that keep us from visualizing the future. It's no wonder that Alan Greenspan spends two hours a day soaking in the tub.

Mental simulation improves skills,  problem-solving, and emotional management.

    Mental simulation can build skills. Mental simulation helped people weld better and throw darts better. Trombonists improved their playing, and competitive figure skaters improved their skating.

    Mental simulation helps with problem solving. Even in mundane planning situations, mentally simulating an event helps us think of things that we might otherwise ave neglected. Imagining a trip to the grocery store reminds us that we could drop off the dry cleaning at the store in the same shopping center. Mental simulations help us anticipate appropriate responses to future situations. Picturing a potential argument with our boss, imagining what he will say, may lead us to have the right words available when the time comes (and avoid saying the wrong words). Research has suggested that mental rehearsal can prevent people from relapsing into bad habits such as smoking, excessive drinking, or overeating. A man trying to kick a drinking problem will be better off it he mentally rehearses how he will handle Super Bowl Sunday: How should he respond when someone gets up for beers?

    Mental simulations help us manage emotions. There is a standard treatment for phobias of various kinds - spiders, public speaking, airplane travel, and others. Patients are introduced to a relaxation procedure that inhibits anxiety, and then asked to visualize exposure to the thing they fear. The first visualizations start at the beginning of the fear. For example, someone who's afraid of air travel might start by thinking about the drive to the airport. The therapist leads the patient through a series of visualizations that get closer and closer to the heart of the fear ("Now the airplanes' engines are revving up on the runway, sounding louder and louder..."). Each time the visualizations create anxiety, the person pauses for a moment and uses the relaxation technique to restore equilibrium.

Notice that these visualizations focus on the events themselves - the process, rather than the outcomes. No one has ever been cured of a phobia by imagining how happy they'll be when it's gone.

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An Entrepreneur is someone who starts companies, right?

Well, yes. But an Entrepreneur also creates Ideas and Relationships. An Entrepreneur can create things as large as political movements or things as small as road trips. By definition, an entrepreneur creates wealth. Wealth can be defined in many ways.

An Entrepreneur creates Wealth

Wealth = Friendship, Knowledge, Financial Security, Freedom, Love, Intelligence, Achievement, Anything of personal value.  

The same basic skills apply to professional entrepreneurship, as they apply to any other type. Three Universal stages apply to wealth creation,

1. The Idea - Ideas often occur organically, a good entrepreneur appreciates problems for the opportunities they provide. Ideas can be simple - like inviting someone to a party, or complicated, like harvesting the motion of waves on the coast to generate energy. Often, in economic entrepreneurship, the person who crates the idea is not the person who starts a company around that idea. Ideas have far reaching consequences that can change the world for the better. Ideas have many forms, like a new joke, or style of golf swing.

2. The Introduction - Ideas can be introduced intentionally or by example. Once an idea is introduced, the responsibility of communicating and acting on that idea is shifted to it's followers. Without followers, an idea is merely a thought. during introduction, the majority of the idea is created in the shortest amount of time. Presenting an idea empathetically, and with confidence will give your movement good character throughout it's life.

3. Growth/Fruition - Some ideas require leadership, some don't. As your ideas become successful, just remember - it is easiest to perpetuate movements that benefit your followers. That can mean making complicated ideas simple, gifting shared moments of humor, or creating communities for people to be a part of. Think in terms of others, and you will be amazed at the changes you can make.



Destruction is a form of creation
- Donnie Darko

 

My roommate paid me thirty dollars to write a sixteen sentence review on business week magazine. (sleeplessness can be a powerful motivator)

While writing I discovered a few interesting things

1. Internet ads of keywords within articles, hyperlinked to advertisers websites, enjoy a 3-10% average click rate. Banner ads get a dismal .2%.

2. Azureus began using encryption in its code last year, to disguise its file sharing content. This technology could make it impossible for any movie studio or law enforcement agency to know what's moving over the internet. This could make file sharers impervious to lawsuits.

3. With the stated corporate tax at 35% of income, fortune 500 companies paid an average of only 26% in taxes. The top three paid 0.0%, 0.3%, and 0.7%. (Things don't seem to look so bad for your future business)

 

The Soule Institute, home of the Trunk Printer.

Have you ever needed to print a laptop document between meetings in your car, but didn't want to drive all the way to kinkos for a two dollar printout?

Well here is how to build a trunk printer, (photos and ROI analysis will be posted soon)

Materials:
One printer - mine is a dell printer that came with my laptop
USB and power cords - these should have been included with the printer
Two bungee cords or rope - essential decor in any garage
Car Power Inverter - These are extremely useful for powering everything, Can be purchased at Walmart or online.

Step one - Install printer drivers.
Many modern printers are plug and play, if not, download drivers from the company website. Test your printer in the house, and make sure it works.

Step two - Configure set up
Put the AC adapter under the passenger seat. (it may be the driver's if this is more convenient) Pull the cord from the inside edge of the seat and plug it into the car outlet.

Load the printer in your trunk, next to the back seat - facing the rear. Thread the wires from the trunk, through the crack in the backseat, under the floormat and under the front seat. Most all cars let you fold down the backseat to expand the trunk space, fold the seatback temporarily so that you can route the wires into the cab.

Plug the power cord into the inverter and pull the USB cord up between the seat and the center console. This way it will be available to plug into your laptop for printing.

You will now have a powered printer in the trunk with its power and USB cords conveniently stowed away and ready to connect.

Step three - Securing the printer
Lash down the printer with the bungee cords or rope. There are many cracks, hooks, and protrusions to tie onto.
Step four - Load the printer
Since the printer is next to the backseat, merely folding it down gives you easy access and allows you to stock the printer with paper.

Step five - Test the setup
Plug your laptop into the USB from the drivers seat. Print normally and retrieve your documents out of the trunk.
You now have a mobile office solution for printing up that business plan or flyers in your car, all with items lying around the house. You can also leave a laptop charger plugged in under the seat for charging your notebook. Impress your friends and co-workers with your mobile office and custom documents on the go.

 

Three months:
Solidify my business plan, assemble a team of extremely high caliber individuals, and start work on the business.

One year:
Form Partnerships with at least three large organizations, Be mentioned in at least five publications, Achieve profitability and 300% yearly revenue growth.

Three years:
Achieve a dynamic company brand known for challenging the orthodox culture of corporate America.

 

In this blog I plan to track my entrepreneurial goals and accomplishments. I am 21 now, how many discoveries and achievements can I complete by the time I turn 22?
Will my company go public before I turn 23?