“You know that what you need to do is possible to do, even though difficult, and sense of time disappears. You forget yourself. You feel part of something larger.” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on the concept of flow

Flow: that perfect intersection of heightened focus, creativity and happiness.

What if you could tap into flow more often? What might be possible?

Plenty. Your identity, your working DNA, your message to the world.

Maybe you want to become a 1-name icon in your specialty—Gaga, Adele, Mariah, Whitney (RIP). Or you want to have your big idea take flight and spread. Fast.

How you say it matters.

The Super Bowl: A quintessentially American spectacle celebrating the manly sport of football. Diehard football fans will cringe, but my favorite moments of the Super Bowl (even when the Bears or Cowboys are playing) are the commercials.

For the creative teams behind the campaigns (writers, art directors, producers), it’s their big game. It’s a chance to heckle the competition and compare notes on who got it right and who went down in flames.

My scorecard is slightly different. I give points for emotional resonance (humor, heartstrings) and clarity (always under valued). But I save the highest scores for spots that cut through the clutter. Spots likely to spike sales or build awareness. Let’s call it the “unforgettable quotient”.

You may know the story of the adman who figured out how to sell twice as much shampoo: he added one word to the label. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Or when Alka-Seltzer changed their packaging: they simply removed the separator between the 2 tablets in the pouch (accompanied by a catchy new jingle). Bingo! Sales doubled.

It's arguably harder today. Apple multiplies their sales through continuous innovation: brand new products we didn't know we needed, followed by even better versions which bait us to trade up.

Taking risks is serious business. Whether you’re gunning for your dream client or taking on the elephant of your industry, choosing the right risks propels you farther, faster.

How do you decide which risks are worth taking?

With advance apologies to those who study risk theory, I offer you two styles of risk-taking:

Science: You carefully assess what your competitors are doing. You research the market and take a strategic look at where your industry (and you) are headed. You calculate the costs and risks associated with each direction. You ask others you respect to weigh in. You run the numbers. In the end, your final decision on whether/how to act is based on what you can prove is most likely to succeed.