"Learning is ever in the freshness of its youth, even for the old."
--- Aeschylus
Doing the same thing every day, day after day, is a good way to become an expert at what you do, but not a good way to expand your knowledge. When we get stuck in a rut of the same ole- same ole, we begin loosing portions of our brain. In fact, studies have shown that you can lose up to ten pounds in 90 days just from the loss of brain tissue because of inactivity of brain use.
Okay, so I made up that last part, but it is true that if you don't work your brain muscle, you do loose the use of it. Oh, it will still be there and you may be able to jumpstart it to get it firing again, but you will find it difficult. Your brain is like your bicep or any other muscle. If you don't use it, you will lose it.
"Learning is an active process. We learn by doing.. Only knowledge that is used sticks in your mind."
--- Dale Carnegie
Book learning is great. You can learn about history and read facts and figures. However, if you are trying to learn more about your business and how to run your business more efficiently, but you don't apply what you've learned, chances are good that you are just being entertained by your reading.
"Learning hath gained most by those books by which the printers have lost."
--- Thomas Fuller
I would like to suggest to you that you begin journaling the titles of the books and articles that you read. Keeping a record helps in two ways. First, you have a list to go to for those times you encounter CRS (Can't Remember Stuff), and you are about to check out a book from the library you've already read.
Second, you have a reference to use when you have questions about a particular subject. Your journal list serves as your personal mini library index.
"I've learned so many things and a lot of things I've learned the hard way. I look at failure as education in that respect I'm very well educated."
--- Kathy Ireland
Another good way to break the staleness and develop those brain muscles is to look back at your failures and jot down the steps that led you there and how you can avoid those same mistakes in the future. This exercise really gets your mind firing on almost all cylinders. By recalling the mistakes and then creating new paths that take you away from those landmines, you are making your brain work out of its comfort zone.
"The love of learning, the sequestered nooks, And all the sweet serenity of books."
--- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Finally, forcing yourself to step out of the ordinary brain activity opens new worlds. With each advanced step toward "thinking," you are causing your brain to think of other activities that will cause you to think. This perpetual cycle will help to prevent getting into a non-thinking rut again. You are now more creative, more imaginative, and will find that you have more energy as well.
"Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in, and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding-line, and had no way of knowing how near the harbour was."
--- Helen Keller
Hybrid EMC/ Billboards: Combining the Best of Print and Electronic Displays on a Single Billboard
By Louis Brill
While most outdoor media companies are taking the plunge to add electronic billboards, it is in no way seen as a replacement of the existing print billboard set ups. It is seen more as a compliment to print, each having certain strengths that reinforce each other's advertising potential.
Read the article...
When Ink Is Not the Problem with Digital Printing, Part I
By Jennifer LeClaire
Variables like surface tension, media expansion and ink absorption take on new dimensions on larger substrates. If the paper doesn’t advance, it could cause blobs of ink or other ugly outcomes. If the media stretches even a little, you could get blurs. Tiling can become a challenge on larger prints. Read on to discover what to do when ink is not the problem.
Read the article...
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On a jewelry store wall (from Lisa of FastSigns, Carson City, NV):
"If she asked for an engagement 'truck', you wouldn't hesitate."
Seen on side of road in Vancouver:
"Drive slow, see our village. Drive fast, see our judge. Speed limits strictly enforced!"
Outside a hotel in Kansas:
"Help! We need inn-experienced people"
Have you seen any funny signs lately? Why not share them with the world? Send your comments, suggestions, and hysterical observations to: info@signindustry.com.
