Daniel H. Pink is the author of five New York Times bestsellers, including his latest, The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward. His other books include the New York Times bestsellers When and A Whole New Mind — as well as the #1 New York Times bestsellers Drive and To Sell is Human. Dan’s books have won multiple awards, have been translated into 46 languages, and have sold millions of copies around the world. He lives in Washington, DC, with his family.

Every creative genius — from Da Vinci to Einstein — had one daily habit in common.

And almost no one does it today.

Here’s why it matters more than ever 👇

Neuroscientist Dr. Nancy Andreasen studied the lives of highly creative people.

Mozart. Einstein. Da Vinci.

She found a striking pattern.

They all scheduled time each day to do... nothing.

Da Vinci would sit silently in front of his paintings.

Einstein would drift aimlessly in a boat.

They weren’t brainstorming. They weren’t focused.

They were letting their minds wander.

And that’s exactly the point.

Andreasen explains this in her book, The Creating Brain.

When your mind is wandering, it isn’t shutting off.

It’s lighting up.

Multiple regions of the brain activate — and start forming surprising, novel connections.

These free-floating moments are where insights emerge.

The idea that clicks while walking.

The solution that surfaces in the shower.

The connection that appears when you're half daydreaming.

That’s not luck. That’s neuroscience.

Today, most people fill every spare second with distraction.

Scroll. Swipe. Tap.

We’ve trained our minds to never be still. And that’s killing our creativity.

The fix?

Give your brain boredom breaks.

Take a walk without your phone

Stare out the window

Sit in silence for 10 minutes

Your best ideas won’t show up when you’re grinding.

They show up when your mind is free to roam.

TL;DR:

Creative genius isn’t about forcing brilliance.

It’s about making space for it to find you.

Schedule some unstructured thought time.

Your brain will thank you for it.

Daniel Pink

#1 New York Times bestselling author of 7 books.

This 20-minute exercise from Stanford could change your life.

It’s called The Odyssey Plan.

It reveals 3 possible futures—and forces you to confront what you really want.

Here’s how it works (and why you should try it):

🧵

The Odyssey Plan was developed by Stanford’s design lab—the same minds behind the bestselling book Designing Your Life.

It’s simple. But powerful.

You imagine 3 completely different versions of your next 5 years.

And it will challenge everything you think you know.

First: 

Map out your life if you stayed on your current path.

Same job. Same routine. Same direction.

Where are you in 5 years?

How do you feel?

Second: 

Design a life that’s totally different.

What if you took a risk? Switched careers? Moved to a new place?

No wrong answers—just explore.

Where does that version of you end up?

Third: 

Build a future where money and other people’s opinions don’t matter.

Forget what's “realistic.”

If nothing was stopping you—what life would you create?

That’s your third path.

Most people live on autopilot.

The Odyssey Plan forces you to zoom out, ask bigger questions, and imagine other routes.

Not to fantasize—but to choose intentionally.

The biggest trap in life? Thinking your current path is the only path.

The Odyssey Plan shows you how many options you actually have.

And which ones are worth pursuing.

Want clarity? 

Do the Odyssey Plan. 

3 futures. 1 decision. Endless insight.

Your next chapter starts by imagining more than one.

I don’t write because I’ve figured it out.

I write in order to figure it out.

Doing is a form of thinking.

#DanielPink #Picasso #QOTD

In 1969, two researchers gave more than one thousand kids the same test NASA uses to measure creativity.

What they found was shocking.

It didn’t just reveal how creativity works — it showed how we lose it.

🧵

George Land and Beth Jarman started with an unusual test:

They gave a group of 5-year-olds a creativity assessment designed to measure problem-solving and imagination — the same test NASA used to identify superstar scientists and engineers.

The results?

98% of the 5-year-olds scored at the “highly creative” level.

These were the creative geniuses NASA needed..

Then Land and Jarman asked a bigger question: What happens to this creativity over time?

So they followed up.

At age 10, only 30% of the same kids scored as creative “geniuses.” At age 15, that portion dropped to 12%.

Eventually, they tested adults.

Only 2% scored in the “highly creative” range.

From 98% to 2%.

What happened?

Land blamed one major factor: the way we educate.

He argued that uncreative thinking isn’t natural — it’s learned.

Over time, we’re trained to converge and comply instead of imagine and invent. To memorize instead of innovate.

The takeaway?

Creativity isn’t something we lose. It’s something we unlearn.

And that means we can relearn it, too.

The challenge isn’t talent. It’s permission.

To ask “what if…” 

To think in questions, not just answers. 

To treat curiosity as a skill — not a distraction.

Creativity isn’t rare. It’s buried.

If 98% of 5-year-olds are creative geniuses, maybe we don’t need to teach creativity.

We just need to stop teaching it out of people.

Want better brainstorming sessions?

Start with this unexpected icebreaker:

Have everyone share an embarrassing story.

Here’s why it works (and why research backs it up): 🧵

This comes from Leigh Thompson, a professor at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

Her research found that teams who start with embarrassment generate more ideas—and better ones.

Why? A few reasons:

*It reduces self-censorship, so people feel freer to share bold ideas.

*It builds vulnerability and trust, making collaboration stronger.

*It shifts the mood—less pressure, more creativity.

Instead of filtering ideas out of fear, people open up.

Instead of playing it safe, they take creative risks.

Instead of shutting ideas down, they build on them.

Try this at your next brainstorming session:


*Share the time you…
*Sent a risky email to the wrong person.
*Walked into a meeting with food on your face.

Completely blanked on someone’s name—twice.

Watch what happens next.

Your afternoon slump is costing you (it’s more than you think)

Feeling sluggish in the afternoon? It’s not just in your head—it’s hardwired into your biology.

Here’s why timing matters (and how to use it to your advantage) 👇

Science backs it up:

We hit a biological dip about 7 hours after waking up.

That’s when we’re less sharp, make more mistakes, and perform worse overall.

And the data proves it.

Consider this:

📉 Test scores are lower in the afternoon.

🚑 Doctors miss more polyps during afternoon procedures.

🚗 Car accidents spike between 2–4 p.m.

Mistakes happen when we’re running on low mental energy.

The fix? Schedule around your brain.

🔹 Critical work? Do it in the morning.

🔹 Medical appointments? Book early.

🔹 Big decisions? Avoid the afternoon slump.

You don’t need more coffee. You need better timing.

Small adjustments = fewer mistakes, better results, and a sharper mind.

Plan your day accordingly.

What’s one thing you’ll reschedule for peak performance?

Why do bronze medalists look happier than silver medalists?

There’s a hidden psychological reason behind this—and it can change the way you think about success and regret.

A quick thread:

Researchers studied Olympic medalists’ reactions.

Gold medalists? Overjoyed.

Silver medalists? Frustrated.

Bronze medalists? Relieved and ecstatic.

Why? Counterfactual thinking.

Bronze medalists use “downward counterfactuals.”

They think: “At least I made the podium. I could’ve finished in 4th place with nothing.”

Gratitude shifts their mindset.

Silver medalists use “upward counterfactuals.”

They think: “If only I had been a little faster, I’d be wearing gold.”

Instead of feeling like the 2nd-best in the world, they feel like the person who just missed winning.

The lesson? Your perspective shapes your emotions.

*Focus on what you did achieve, not just what you missed.

*Use gratitude as a tool for happiness.

*But also—use regret as a tool for growth.

Regret is painful, but it’s also fuel.

Regret is an upward counterfactual. It starts with “If only…” and makes you feel worse.

But it also pushes you to improve.

The key is to channel it.

Let regret teach you, not paralyze you.

Gratitude makes you feel better.

Regret makes you do better.

Use both—and you’ll win in the long run.

Want to improve your meetings?

Try this 4-word mantra:

Want to work smarter, not harder? Time your tasks right.

Here is how to optimize your workday. Pay attention to the hidden pattern of the day.

Research shows that our energy and focus follow a predictable pattern each day:

Peak – Best for deep, analytical work

Trough – Worst time for focus, best for administrative tasks

Recovery – Ideal for creative and problem-solving work

Use this rhythm to your advantage.

Peak (Morning for most people)

Best for: Deep, focused, analytical work

*Writing reports

*Coding

*Problem-solving

During this time, your brain is sharpest, and you can block out distractions more effectively.

Trough (Early to mid-afternoon)

Worst time for: Anything requiring deep focus

Best for: Administrative and low-energy tasks

*Responding to emails

*Scheduling meetings

*Filing paperwork

Your energy dips here, so do not waste it on high-value work.

*Recovery (Late afternoon to evening)

*Best for: Creative and brainstorming work

*Big-picture thinking

Brainstorming ideas

Iterating on projects

Your brain is more relaxed, making it easier to connect ideas and think creatively.

What if you are a night owl?

The same cycle applies, just shifted later in the day.

The real problem is that most workplaces force night owls to work on an early bird schedule.

If you manage people, let them work when their brain functions best.

*Work with your brain, not against it.

*Peak: Deep work

*Trough: Administrative tasks

Recovery: Creative work

Time your tasks right, and you will get more done in less time without burning out.

What time of day do you focus best? Let me know.

Want to instantly feel more satisfied with your life?

It’s not about adding more. It’s about subtracting.

Here’s a simple mental trick backed by science that shifts everything 👇

It’s called Mental Subtraction of Positive Events.

Instead of just counting your blessings…

You imagine what life would be like if they never happened.

It helps you reimagine and reappreciate your world.

Think about the best things in your life:

✅ Your family

✅ Your career

✅ Your health

✅ Your community

Now, imagine all the small events that had to align for them to exist.

Then, mentally erase those moments.

What if you never took that one job?

Never met that one person?

Never took that leap?

Suddenly, what you have feels more valuable, way more valuable.

Studies show that gratitude improves well-being.

But sometimes, the best way to feel gratitude isn’t by adding thanks …

It’s by realizing what could’ve been taken away.

Try this today:

Pick one thing you’re grateful for.

Imagine the tiny moments that made it possible.

Picture your life if they never happened.

Feel the shift? That’s mental subtraction at work.

Appreciation isn’t about having more.

It’s about seeing what’s already there—clearly.

Gratitude through subtraction makes the ordinary feel extraordinary.

What’s one thing you’re grateful for today? Drop it below 👇

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