Reflections on Daniel Pink's Youtube Video on a "Whole New Mind, Part II".

Hello again everyone, and welcome back to the next installment of my blog, “Making Music with Mr. Belloto.” This blog is a continuation of the discussion on the video series, “A Whole New Mind, Parts 1-6, by Daniel Pink”. This blog entry focuses on Part 2 of the series.

As you may recall, my last blog about Daniel Pink focused on the central issues of, “What is one’s Purpose in life?” and, “How does one choose the right career for life?” These are the central themes of Part 1. Pink guides us to believe that the pursuit of Right-Brained attributes, i.e. “internal” rewards rather than “external” ones, are the keys to finding the right answers to these weighty questions. A quick thought back to earlier lessons on Pink’s text reminds us that right-brained characteristics include such tendencies as intuitiveness, the love of bright colors, a grasp of language and excellent verbal skills, musical and artistic talent, the ability to do “big-picture” thinking or generalization, and other similar abilities, all of which Pink has asserted make for a much more successful life than left-brained tendencies such as structure, sequence, logic and analysis.

However, in part 2 of the series, Pink goes even further to assure us that the supposed “superiority” of right-brained thinking is not only a matter of philosophical, spiritual, emotional, or “what is my purpose?” type of life issues, but also a matter for practical, everyday living, even including and especially, in matters of finance and economics. For example, and hearkening back to his promise at the beginning of the series for Brevity, Repetition and Levity, he humorously points out that artists and poets have long known the monetary value of right-brainededness in practical everyday life, but those such as scientists, engineers, and accountants call all things right-brained, such as those mentioned above, in Pink’s own words, “hooey”.

Moreover, he then makes a strong point that right-brained thinking is not only something to be simply desired in today’s economy, but is, in fact, a critical financial necessity. To make this point he focuses on the concept of Abundance. Pink reminds us that abundance is to be seen everywhere, from the automobile industry to the amazing growth of the “storage” industry which grew out of the need for extra space to store all of the abundance of possessions that Americans have today. How does this concept of Abundance then relate to the need for right-brained thinking? For the answer to this question, Pink then guides us to a new concept which he terms “utility versus significance”. He explains that common household items are no longer desired just for their utilitarian function, but must also possess a great measure of “significance”, i.e. beauty, color, and eye-catching design, the very “stuff” of which right-brained thinking is made. He then shows us a common, everyday household fly-swat, and informs us that the fly-swatter costs the seemingly outrageous amount of $14.00! . . . Why is it so expensive, we may ask? Because, as Pink laughingly answers, it is a beautiful color, made in a lovely design shape, and has its own little holder or stand, all of which give this simple utilitarian item great “significance” as well as a $14.00 price tag. So, he again points out, that right-brained abilities are indeed the road today to success with today’s modern companies and organizations who seek to satisfy the need for personal satisfaction and “significance” of their customers. In other words, there is great money to be made in being a right-brained thinker!

Join me again soon for my next blog, which will continue our discussion of the video, “A Whole New Mind-Part 3”. In part 3, Pink gives us even further insight into the fascinating concept of Abundance, and how it is related to a “right-brained’ world. Stay tuned!