Innovation Talk: Make Your Brain Smarter. Sandra Bond Chapman, PhD, founder and leader of the Center for BrainHealth at UT Dallas relates new scientific evidence that you literally can think your brain smarter and healthier. She debunks long-standing beliefs about what smart is and shares proven strategies to expand your brain span to more closely match the ever-increasing human lifespan. Whether you are young or old, Dr. Chapman will inspire you to test the limits of your own brain potential.

Your brain is your greatest asset and natural resource. It is the most changeable part of your entire body. However, vastly more personal attention and effort are directed at improving physical health than at strengthening and regaining the highest level of brain performance. Dr. Chapman’s research taps into the secret of making your brain smarter, harnessing the CEO of your brain performance – your frontal lobes. Her techniques show how to engage your frontal lobes, ignite your passion and learn to be strategic about the way you expend precious brain energy.
From teens to corporate executives to warriors to healthy agers, as well as individuals with brain disease or injury, Dr. Chapman and her team at the Center for BrainHealth have created strategies to increase creativity, energy and focus for people of all ages. In the junior high school classroom, these strategies take a new approach to education and have improved teen reasoning ability, showing 30% gains in critical thinking across socioeconomic status. Business leaders who have embraced these healthy brain habits report increased innovation and their employees demonstrate greater productivity and efficiency. Former military service personnel have used these brain-training techniques to bridge barriers to returning to civilian society, making home life and work life markedly better. One veteran described his transformational experience as “cognitive resurrection”. Healthy agers and individuals debilitated by mild cognitive impairment, which is often the pre-cursor to Alzheimer’s disease, showed increases in memory and other cognitive functions. Individuals with concussions or traumatic brain injury (TBI) exhibited brain repair and improved cognitive performance, even years after injury.
Dr. Chapman’s dream is that you will act now to make an investment in your brain potential and build the cognitive reserves today to ensure that your best brain years are ahead of you, not behind you.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)

After you’ve watched an innovation video what can you do next? How can you apply what you’ve learned or been inspired to do…and keep learning and being inspired? You can watch more videos or read more on the topic but consider this. We learn most through reflective action, through applying the knowledge we’ve gained, through experiencing and making it real for use. What can you do or take action on?

This Innovation Videos website is a resources to help you stay fresh, on the cutting edge, and up to date with your own learning and personal and professional development. The ability and skill to innovate is becoming more important than ever due to the rapid pace of change in our world. You may not have had a class on “innovation” in school or at your work so it is up to you to gain the knowledge, attitude, mindset, and skill that will allow you to adapt and respond to change with innovation. A first step is to read or watch videos on this site to get inspired and learn ways you can be more innovative. Then, take what you are learning and apply it to your own life and work. Take on an innovative project to create and develop something new that can have an impact, something you may not have ever done before. Perhaps you will get an idea from an innovation video on our site.

After learning on your own look to be a part of a leadership program, workshop, course, or seminar. Join a group or even create a startup with some partners. Involve other people in learning and doing innovation with you. Keep reading and keep listening because there is always opportunity to learn new methods since new technologies are being introduced all the time. When you are just working on your computer, have a video playing to listen and learn. See if you can watch (or at least listen to) a different innovation video everyday to keep developing your knowledge base and leadership skills. But remember…you will need to do something. Take action!