TED talk about Marcus McConnell

So today I am going to talk about my ideas of a genius person. That person should have a remarkable impact on other people and a successful life in ordered to be categorized as a genius.  (smile)

Okay so I will talk particularly about a paradigm of a genius person. Probably, some of you might know of him. If you don’t then you will now (smile). He is Doctor Marcus McConnell, a marketing professor at the University Of Mount Union. If I should recommend someone for you to talk to, I would say Mark McConnell, the guy who speaks without hesitation. And he is also a genius.  

If you want to know deeper about Marcus, here is some helpful information. He first got his Bachelor at Young Town State University and latter a master degree at Tulane University. Yeah he did not graduate from Harvard or Yale. He went to normal schools like most of the people did at that time. Mark said: “pssh who needs that Harvard degree to be like me right now.” Right after his graduation from grad school, he started to experience in reality and kindled his own dream business.

Dr. McConnell is not only really well known by people on this campus, but also about another thing. And that’s actually what makes him so special. He has his own business company outside of this school. Yeah, he does not only teach, but he also operates a business for his own. How many people could do that? So that one day when I talked privately to Mark, he told me how successful he was with his other life other than teaching. He finally reaches to the point after 20 year building his dream business career that he doesn’t have to go to his company anymore but still gathering benefits, as well as money, from it. His agency is specializing in hospitalization business. The number of the employees who are working for Mark is small, but they are all brilliant with nice resumes and efficient working abilities. This company is individually owned by Mark, not sharing stocks with anyone else. How did he start all of this? Yes from the degrees he got in college and graduated school AND from the real life. He told me that he was a street cred. What is this? Does anyone know what it means? Well it means that you learn your lesson from life by yourself, from the society and from the reality. You break out of your shell and discover the world around you. Get some experience. Street cred is a very informal form of saying about a person in suit like Mark. He did that. He spent 20 years of his life building and operating his business. Then later, he used his knowledge he had learned from his own battle to teach the students in college. He said: “my company is like one of my biological child and everything I have done with it and with this school relates respectively to each other.” This man…

He doesn’t stop from that. The more he has done, the more it shows that he’s a true genius. Mark said he expected every of his employee could do something good for life. Every month, he will pay them one day just to go and do charity at some places. And they have been doing that for quite a long time. You have to realize how tough the economy has been for the past 10 years. But he is still able to maintain his “child” prosperously and contribute to the community surrounding. The man is a genius not only because of brilliantly using his skills to operate a successful business, contributing to his students, but also because of his ability to ingeniously taking advantage of his own success to help other people, create happiness. He got all of the respect. And this is a true success.

Moving to the second life of Mark…

It’s funny how I don’t get to take any class of his. Well not that I am not able to take any. It’s just that I am too lazy to wake up for his class, which is often at 7:30 am. BUT I have gotten a lot of chances to work with him since I have been in this college. So long story short, I am a member of the AMA, American Marketing Association. And Marcus is the advisor of the AMA. He just randomly spoke up at one meeting that I went to. But that spontaneous attitude that he showed out that night left me a great impression. Never in my life, have I seen a professor or a teacher that could be so free and so close to students like Mark. I just call him Mark because that’s what I normally do. And he dares say pretty anything off his mind. And people keep promoting his ideas since they are so brilliant and original. If you major in business and you need a good advisor, come to Mark. He is a professional one. One time, I was having a conversation with Mark about my next semester’s schedule; he did not hesitate to tell me what professors I should take for my classes. Even all of the business professors are kind of his friends. But he knows who is good and who is not. And you cannot always talk to a professor who would give you such detailed advices that others would not do, like this. He’s not only a good advisor; he’s also a good teacher. The way he transfers his knowledge to the student really matters. Mark does not make his students write a lot but practicing with a lot of presentations. “They will need them a lot in the future, and I approve this message.”- He said. He lives to contribute and to help people. His manner attracts people to be around him. This makes everyone truly admire Mark and support the idea that he’s a genius.

Okay so you can see Mark is really successful in his life and he is satisfied with it. A lot of people admire him and if you know him, I bet that you will not deny that Mark is a true genius. Working as a professor at a university is not easy at all, not even talking about operating a flourish business. But Mark has made it. What I said at first, original ideas and a successful life make a genius. Marcus McConnell seems to meet all the requirements here right? SO why isn’t him a genius then? From this example of one particular person that I talked about, it should be the same to anyone in the world. However, this is my personal idea only. Other qualities of a genius might be offered more than what I did; but in this case, I believe I proved my point perfectly. Thank you for listening. Have a great day!

As you already know, I am currently a freshman at University of Mount Union. Even I am new here but I have known a lot of people. And one of the people that I suppose to be a true genius is Dr. Mark McConnell. He is a marketing professor. Surprisingly, I don't have any class with him yet. So how do I know if he's a genius?

At the beginning of the semester, I signed up to be a part of AMA, a marketing association at my college. I went to some meetings, talked to a lot of people. And soon after, I had a chance to meet the supervisor of this association. That is Dr. McConnell. He put a strong impress on me the first time we talked. It was when Dr. and a couple of students, including me, went to a conference in Akron, OH. He soon marketed himself as a successful man without any hesitation. And it did not make me think that he was a show up guy or anything. The way he talked about his business career was really admirable. Dr. McConnell is a professor at my college but he is also a businessman who owns a company. He told me that he mastered to the point that he doesn't have to go to work at his company but still receive profits from it. How amazing is that?

Also, I acknowledge that he's a genius is by the way he talks. He has his own way to attract people to his stories. First, he dares talk to people about what he really thinks and he has a strong will of making decision for what he wants to do. Even he is not my official advisor but he still wants to help me with schedule because he knows what he is doing and he knows what I need to my major. However, the subtle part here is he tries not to step over my official supervisor's toes. He carefully gives me advice but basing on what my own professor suggested. And I totally put my trust on him.

Being a genius here doesn't mean that you have to invent something incredible or do audacious things. It is when you dare show yourself to the world, when you are able to work to succeed. Mark is a really successful man with his genius mind. The proof is his private company and the people that admire him a lot. Yes he has made such incredible remarks in everyone's mind. And that makes him a genius.

The Royal Tennebaums is a fiction family created based on the real society but still has its own world which might never happen in real life. What it means is like that family has divorced parents and 3 kids like a lot of normal families. However, the way the kids were raised is so in-ordinary. Each one is pretty crazy and they become their own type of genius. The lines, the actions and the scenes are nowhere close to the reality but it paints something that show how people want to direct their lives in the same way. Moreover, in this movie, family is also a place where built up the children's talents. The kids are genius. One was able to build up a lot of plays since she was young, one was able to maintain and prosper a business since he was small and one was a champion in tennis for years. They all have motivations to work and succeed. those motivations don't show up at the beginning of the movie. However, when everyone starts to collapse and fail then we know what are so important to them that inspire them to work. The tennis champion stops his career because of his loved woman gets married to someone else. The kid who establishes his business at an early age stops his job because of his wife's death. And the girl who loves the plays stops writing new ones because she did not find her true love and her works are not appreciated. The common thing of all of them is that their family is falling apart. Their base is not concrete anymore. They have the reason to fail but also we realize what makes a genius. One among many reasons is love. When you have your mind filled with love, you don't have to worry about where your heart belongs to anymore. You can feel more safe and secure to work and move on other things in your life when you got love. It is everyday proved to be true.

Education kills creativity?

Education is an important aspect of life and without it we cannot develop our modern life further. However the way education is organized in order to provide everyone a comprehensive development matters quite a lot.

I want to discuss about how education and creativity relate to each other. At school, from the elementary to the high school, paralyzing with academic lectures we have extra curriculum activities and elective classes. So actually, the school system in America supports the development of the students more roundly. However, there are still some lacks of creativity development perspectives in the education system. The teachers have not paid attention enough to the real potential of the students in class. According to the TED talk, Ken Robinson told a story about a girl who was moving in class during a test and the teacher asked her mom to take her to have some check outs. It turned out that she loved dancing and she was good at it so her mom sent her to a dance school so she could develop her ability better. However, not a lot of teachers could do that anywhere. It was just a rare example when you teach and you can discover someone's talent. Most of the time the teachers will tell the students to stop disturbing the class and write them detentions. That kills creativity. 

I also share with you guys my example beyond this country. I had my elementary and secondary education in Vietnam. The system is totally different there. But there is one thing that was wrong that makes me remember the most back in time. When we started to learn how to write and spell, if a student tended to write by her or his left hand then she or he would get punished. I am not sure why writing by the left hand was considered to be wrong back there in Vietnam. However, I think that is pretty stupid because as I have studied, writing by the left hand could balance your brain better and it helps you potentially being more creative. The teachers purposely made the students to change their ability in learning. That kills creativity. 

What should we do to stop this? We should have more well rounded education. The teachers should be more aware of their student's potentials. Parents should encourage and let their children go to the schools that can elevate their talents. Everyone deserves to have a better education where the creativity is put ahead. Lastly, being able to learn with your ability and develop your talents is really important in order to develop creativity. Because creativity is very important to the human beings as I have proved in many previous posts.

Revision and creativity

Okay so revision first of all will help you complete your paper better. It is not only about grammar but about the content that you write about that you have to revise. Revision is a process which could might take more than 1 hour. Every writer should revise after their first draft. Famous writers always do like that for example: 50% Prewriting; 10% Drafting-Writing; 25% Revising; 10% Editing... This is J.K. Rowling's planning sheet for Harry Potter. See how revising takes 25% on her work there? Yes it is really important. If you follow the steps on this site, there is a high chance you will make your paper better than the first time you write it:

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/revising-drafts/

How revision and creativity relate to each other? After you revise your draft the first time, you might change some of your idea to be something new, something better. If you read my last few posts, you will see that basing on the original ideas you can create new ones  that are more creative, more attractive. You have to do your revision carefully in details. You don't have to do it in one day. Take your time and use the right methods. You might not have creative ideas for the first time you compose your essay but after revision, you probably will find something else that is better. Revision stimulates your creative process.
SO...
Don't just stop right after you write your essay!

Is Henry Darger eccentric?

Ok so the biggest conclusion about Henry Darger was found by an article which is our class assignment. I would like to attribute the source that I will copy the paragraph from but this is so true and it explains a lot about Henry's life:

"Schizotypal personality is a milder version of the clinical psychiatric condition called schizotypal personality disorder, which is among a cluster of personality disorders labeled "odd or eccentric" in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The schizotypal diagnosis grew out of large epidemiological studies in which researchers noticed that the relatives of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia were more likely to exhibit odd behaviors and beliefs than relatives of those not afflicted with schizophrenia. Schizotypal people, for instance, may dress in an idiosyncratic style; their speech patterns may be somewhat out of the ordinary; they may respond ineptly in social situations; their emotional responses may be inappropriate; they may believe in supernatural phenomena such as telepathy and omens; and they may be hard to get close to -- both physically and emotionally. In short, schizotypal individuals are eccentric."
(Scientific American Mind; May/Jun2011, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p22-29, 8p)

Henry appears to have schizotypal personality. He has magical thinking which was able to motivate him to create a whole new world with so many unreal things. He has unusual perceptual experiences. His childhood was abused by a lot of people. It was rough and probably that is the reason why he wrote about children. Last but not least, he has mild paranoia. He snuggle himself into his own little world. No one knew about him or his work until he was gone. Henry possesses all the forms of schizotypal personality, and what it is was explained above. This symptom is one of the explanation for Henry Darger's behavior.

In fact, no one really cared about what he was doing. They kept thinking that he was weird and lonely and all. He never talked to anyone. If it was you, would you come and talk to some people like him? But when he died, luckily, the neighbor found his work. From that, the whole world would open their mouth with a great surprise. But that is just the later story. His life was poor. Everything was so gloomy. The real life was boring even his inner one was rich and exciting. All the circumstances must of had impacted on his behavior that some people might suppose it was mental disorder. However, it is actually not.

The big question about Henry Darger is: Is he really creative? YES HE IS. Sir and ma'am, the story happens in his writing has NOTHING to do with his real life. Well it does somehow but most likely that it is unreal. Then since the story is not like his real life, he must of created something new. That new thing is creativity. The ability to create such a huge story like "The realms of the unreal" is enormous. But also the time he spent to write it was not small at all either. And the way he made it long but not boring is an appearance of creativity. He had to come up with new ideas, new paintings, and new contents. Nothing was repeated identically. Then why are we questioning his creativity? He must care about his paintings so he drew them so perfectly. The proof is now all of his work is presented in a reputable museum in New York city. He is truly talented. 

I would doubt his mental health. However, his behavior did not seem to be crazy at all. He really only got that schizotypal personality. A lot of things have impacted on him to push him to the top of his ability, to create his world. I admire and appreciate that so much. Rest in peace Henry.

My first shitty draft - What is creativity?

Creativity legitimately is an outstanding perspective of life. Now a day, the trend of the people who keep their innovative positions in the society is getting bigger, and for a reason: they are creative. For example, you think of a new script for a fiction movie. Since the movie fiction, so it is not supposed to be real. Therefore, you need to think over the reality to have a good story and interest the audience. That is one situation when creativity is used.

Anyone can be creative but it depends on the level of thinking out of the box is. Encountering the idea of being able to come up with fresh ideas, being passive and conservative are the two negative adjective that people might be, which takes them away from creativity. No one could ever just sit still and suddenly explode with incredible thoughts. Nevertheless, always holding negative ideas in the head would not help people exploring new ideas. One example of how necessary for being creative is when you do a project in class and it requires your innovation. You cannot just give it up, think simple and never try to figure new ways to solve the problem. It would bring your grade down with poor thinking process, which in this case is non-creativity.

Creativity includes imagination. You tend to imagine things that do not exist. Last class of freshman seminar, the professor assigned each divided group in class three objects and asked them to think of how to survive with those tools. Even the tool might be the bird feeder but one group of student still thought of catching fireflies to have light at night. It is pretty creative even we think that it’s impossible to think of any usage for the bird feeder in order to survive in a wild island. Sometimes, imagination just makes your life more interesting, not only to survive like in the example.

Besides, innovation is a part of creativity. Steve Jobs is a typical paradigm of getting innovative ideas. He invented apple and so far, people still love his products. He created his own label and even now when he is dead, people still remember of him as a great inventor of all time. Think of something new might change the world. Or It would just change some individual’s life but in a positive way.

How to think creatively is not an easy question. There are a few methods proposed during these recent decades. Having listened to the TED talk about fashion, Johanna, who was presenting the talk, made some quiet good points of views. She stated that copying in fashion is not that bad. It, indeed, is a good idea to create new things. Some designers tend to always draw something too artistic and expensive so their products have only upper classmen can enjoy their works, not even buying. On the other hand, with some practical designers, they could copy those famous works and turn them into something utilitarian. What it means is to be practical. You catch the real need of the most consumers and provide them what they want. That definitely will help you make a lot of money. Basically, art is great, but money is more important, too. Therefore, in order to make a lot of money, you should be practical and creative. Think fast.

Another way to be creative is to find your inspiration. When you need to come up with something new, you should find something similar to it, and try to operate what is inside so you can understand the background of the problem better. The movie “The red violin” is about how a violin was made a few centuries ago has been traveling around the world. Based on the way the previous owners play the instruments, the later owners get progressive in using it. But the reason why the violin is loved and moved from people to people is because it is unique. It was painted by the blood of the inventor’s wife. The inventor puts all of his love and uses his wife’s death as his inspiration to create such an incredible instrument. Considering carefully, we can see that to be creative, most of the time motivation is needed till the end.

When you think creatively, you act more positively and efficiently. It trains you to think fast and be able to survive in some odd situations that you are never prepared before. You can make a stand out, a label for yourself that everyone will notice you because you have creativity and you think differently, more openly than the others.