Do you read Bill Gates' blog, Gatesnotes? A recent post titled, “Why I’m into mediation,” received quite a bit of media attention. In the post, Gates reveals that after years of avoiding meditation—thinking it was, “a woo-woo thing tied somehow to reincarnation”—he recently started to practice the mindfulness technique. He and his wife, Melinda, now meditate two or three times a week for about 10 minutes each time. “It’s a great tool for improving my focus,” says the self-made billionaire and Microsoft co-founder.

Gates isn't the only one benefiting from meditating regularly. More and more Americans are, too. Data from a 2017 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) found that U.S. adults’ use of meditation more than tripled between 2012 and 2017 (from 4.1 percent to 14.2 percent). The use of meditation by U.S. children (aged 4 to 17 years) also increased significantly (from 0.6 percent in 2012 to 5.4 percent in 2017).

Of course, meditation isn’t the only path to creativity and focus. Steve Jobs was known for having walking meetings. Richard Branson and Barack Obama also prefer to walk and talk. According to a Stanford University study, a person's creative output increased by 60 percent when  walking. Countless other studies have concluded that exercise provides a number of brain-boosting benefits, including greater creativity, a sharper memory and a stronger ability to focus.

My question for you is, what do you do to clear your head or be more creative? Do you meditate? Take walks? Run? Practice yoga? Visit BrandPackaging.com and take the poll.
 

call for speakers!

BrandPackaging is searching for speakers to present at Packaging That Sells. The conference is October 28-30 in Chicago. Hmm, maybe we should include a meditation session.

Visit brandpackaging.com/packaging-that-sells for more information or email me directly.