Tap Your Own Brilliance

Solve Problems Faster, Make Better Decisions, and
Communicate More Effectively
by Drawing on Your Own Experience & Expertise

Recording Available on CD or MP3

In your mental databanks, you have a tremendous amount of experience and expertise that can help you with all your toughest problems, decisions, and people issues. In fact, your particular background knowledge is uniquely helpful: No one else understands the details of your situation like you do.

There's just one problem. You can't always access the information when you need it. That's why so many issues are difficult, but after you've figured them out, they seem obvious. Hindsight is 20:20!

If you want to speed up the process, and learn to access what you already know when you need it, you can learn how in my 4-session course, Tap Your Own Brilliance, which is now available on CD or MP3 download. This class presents the core toolset you need to pull helpful information out of your own brain, and use it to solve problems faster, make better decisions, and communicate more effectively.

Already taken Thinking Tactics? Click here to find out what's different about this class.

If this sounds like a tall order, bear with me for a few paragraphs while I explain the underlying problem, how I help you solve it, and why this solution brings benefits on such a wide range of activities.

I said there was just one problem, that you can't always access valuable information when you need it. Well, maybe it's really three problems:

The relevant information does not always occur to you at a convenient time and in an obviously helpful form.
Sometimes the relevant information is mixed up with more dubious material: old assumptions that are no longer true, past mistakes that weren't caught, vague recollections, etc.
Sometimes the most important information is associated with unpleasant thoughts or memories, which you'd rather not dwell on, if possible.

How do you identify the true and the good within this muddle? That's what thinking is for. Thinking is a process of sorting out your thoughts from feelings, testing your assumptions, and checking for contradictions.

Now, you have been thinking since you were about three. That's many years of experience. But if you are like most people, you had to "pick it up" as you went along.

Personally, I picked up tools for thinking from a wide variety of sources. Classes on philosophy, computer science, writing, and marketing proved helpful. I found useful information in books on time management, people skills, and cognitive psychology. Most important was one-on-one mentoring from first-class thinkers in diverse fields, from science (specifically, adaptive optics), to philosophy, to marketing. (You can read more about my background here.)

As a result of just "picking it up," most people lack a self-conscious mastery of thinking. When their thinking flows smoothly, they do well. But when they get bogged down or go in circles, they don't know what to do.

In my class, Tap Your Own Brilliance, I teach you exactly what to do if you feel overloaded, confused, conflicted, or blank. At such times you may feel like your brain has stopped functioning and has nothing to offer, but that's not true. I guarantee there is crucial information in your mental databanks that could help right at that moment. In my course, I'll teach you what to do. We cover one issue in each of four sessions:

Picking Someone's Brain (Yours!): Learn how to get helpful, relevant information flowing from your databanks at the first sign of problems.
Lassoing Runaway Thoughts: Find how to capture the good ideas when you're feeling overloaded, confused, or overwhelmed by emotions.
Avoiding Wasted Effort: See how to uncover and address conflicts that are causing you to flounder.
Triggering New Insights: Discover a reliable way to prod new, helpful ideas from your subconscious when it feels like you've run dry.

"This class makes it easier to face difficult decisions, to more quickly find paths to better solutions, and to overcome obstacles such as overload, confusion and lack of ideas. The time and money I spent thinking about thinking was a solid investment that will pay dividends for decades."
—Eric Kalin, Manager, Sales Operations, AT&T

These classes were originally offered over a telephone bridge, with a live, interactive audience.

During class, I present a tool, explain what it is, how it works, and when to use it. Then everyone in the class pauses to try out the tool, on an issue of his choice. As you're listening, I strongly encourage you to pause, too, to try the tactics on your own real-life problem. Each exercise is fairly short, usually only a few minutes, but they are long enough for you to see how powerfully the tactics focus your attention on top issues and help you zero in on answers. Plus, immediately after trying the technique, you'll hear the class questions and discussion.

If you have your own questions, never fear. This package comes with a free trial in the Thinking Lab, my membership program for people who have taken Thinking Tactics or Tap Your Own Brilliance. During your trial, you are welcome to email me questions. I promise at least a short response, and a pointer to where you can get more help on the Thinking Lab site--or in some of the other material you'll get as part of the package.

The course manual includes handouts for each session, plus an extensive set of questions and answers compiled from dozens of people who have taken the course. You also get a pamphlet explaining "Thinking on Paper" and a laminated summary sheet for the course. Plus, I include recordings of two additional classes, "Thinking Notebooks 101" and "Using Targeted Thinking to Get What You Want." These classes were originally recorded in the Thinking Lab, and complement the basic material in the 4-session course.

I (Jean Moroney) developed this material by working with individuals and groups, targeting the top thinking problems they faced when they sat down to think at their desks. We've all felt stuck in our thinking at times—though you may have called it "procrastinating" or "bogging down" or "going in circles."

What most people don't know is that a few basic tools can slay these dragons. I've taught Thinking Tactics in workshops to well over a thousand people (see my testimonials). I'm now offering a recorded version of the material, making it accessible to a wider number of people. The recordings, including all the extras, is only $167. Sound like a deal? Sign up here.

Bonus: The Thinking Lab

To help you apply the skills, and give you a chance to ask questions, you will be given a complimentary membership in the Thinking Lab for two months (CD option) or three months (MP3 option). In the Thinking Lab, you get weekly thinking tips. You can listen to mastery classes covering additional topics. And you can access a whole library of step-by-step instructions on topics of interest, and get feedback and help from me.

"Your Thinking Lab is simply outstanding. I just downloaded the teleclass on 'Using Targeted Thinking to Get What You Want,' and as usual, I found it very helpful and illuminating."
—Rohit Gupta, PhD, Santa Clara, CA

Sometimes you need to be able to put on your "thinking cap" and get answers.

As a professional, you sometimes work by yourself, by choice or necessity. That's when you have to rely on your own brain. And that's why people from a wide variety of professions have found the techniques valuable:

Managers, who have to do strategic thinking for their groups or projects, and have to think through diverse tricky problems, from how to do more with less, to how to handle people.
Small business owners, who have to develop many different skills from marketing, to managing cashflow, to hiring and firing, many of which they were never trained for.
Nonfiction writers, who have to collect and organize their ideas, and then transform them into written words on a schedule.
Engineers, who are always being asked to solve a new, harder problem than the one they solved last week.
Artists of all kinds, including painters, novelists, and composers, who find that even if their artistic medium is not words, their ability to manage their creative process in words helps them be more effective.
Anyone who thinks for a living.

You are your own greatest resource. This class will help you to do your best thinking, on demand, when you want to or need to. Using these tools, you can help inspiration to strike.

"If you ever experience confusion, overload, procrastination, floundering or a blank brain when trying to make a decision or move forward on a project (and who of us hasn't), this class is a must. This class taught me a wide variety of techniques to tap into my own brilliance. Thank you, Jean, for making it so much easier than I could ever have imagined to breakthrough the brain fog I've experienced in the past, but will never need to fear again."
—Kathy Goughenour, President, LeadBoosterClub.com

Here's exactly what you'll learn

Session 1: Picking Someone's Brain (Yours!)

What works automatically in your brain and what doesn't
How to concentrate when you're feeling distracted
The top tool for digging information out of your mental databanks
A step-by-step procedure that unleashes pent-up ideas
The one No-No that shuts down thinking

In-Class Individual Exercises: you will use the tactics on a modest problem that is bugging you and a issue you want to dig deeper on.

Session2: Lassoing Runaway Thoughts

The number one obstacle in thinking
Three steps to deal with overload
The stock questions that sort out confusion
An amazingly easy process for coping with too many emotions
Why you need a cheatsheet for your brain

In-Class Individual Exercises: you will use the tactics on an issue you're feeling confused about and an upsetting situation.

Session 3: Avoiding Wasted Effort

The one time it's imperative to stop thinking
The surprising technique you already know that can help identify why you're floundering and what to do
The listening skill they don't teach you in communication classes
Nine signs of conflict and what they mean
When "trying harder" fails, and what to do

In-Class Individual Exercises: you will use the tactics to diagnose why you're floundering on one or two tasks.

Session 4: Triggering New Insights

The advantages and disadvantages of a group brainstorming session
Three steps to triggering new ideas by yourself
Three easy triggers to use
The question that can break you out of tunnel vision
How all the tactics from the course fit together into a system to help you concentrate

In-Class Individual Exercises: you will use the tactics to brainstorm ideas for one or two issues.

Class will be mostly lecture and exercises, with some discussion.

A No-Risk Sample

Jump Start Your Thinking is a free 1-hour sample class I offer every other month. About 30-40 minutes of that teaser covers "Thinking on Paper", which overlaps with this class. Sign up on the Jump Start page.

I guarantee, if you like the Jump Start class, you will find Tap Your Own Brilliance even more valuable. It builds on what can only be mentioned in passing in Jump Start.

"I had used 'thinking on paper' before, but now I have additional methods to use with it, and I can do it routinely. The additional tactics are tremendously helpful in regaining focus after frequent interruptions. Great stuff."
—Bart Blacha, Software Engineer,
Austin, Texas

What exactly do I get?

Hard Copy CD Version: Price: $167

Edited CD's of all four sessions
A manual with a compilation of handouts for the sessions plus a compilation of questions & my answers
Two additional CDs "Thinking Notebooks 101" and "Using Targeted Thinking to Get What You Want."
A 14-page "Thinking on Paper" pamphlet and a laminated summary sheet for quick reference
A coupon for two free months in the Thinking Lab.
Order CD's here...

Soft Copy MP3 Download: Price: $167

Access to Edited MP3's of all four sessions
Soft copy of a compilation of handouts for the sessions plus a compilation of questions & my answers
Two additional MP3's "Thinking Notebooks 101" and "Using Targeted Thinking to Get What You Want."
A 14-page "Thinking on Paper" pamphlet and a laminated summary sheet for quick reference (sent by mail)
A coupon for three free months in the Thinking Lab.
Order MP3's here...

If you prefer to pay by check, it's easy. Just use the links above, but put in the coupon code PAYBYCHECK. I'll have your order information, and you can send a check along, payable to: Thinking Directions, 527 Third Avenue, #223, New York, NY 10016.

Do you need help getting your employer to reimburse you for the cost of the course? Just let me know—I can help with the paperwork.

Still not sure if "Tap Your Own Brilliance" is right for you?

It's not right for everybody. This is a hands-on class, for people who have items on their "to do" list that they need to think about. Here's a quiz to find out whether it's right for you:

Is this class for you?
Take this simple quiz to find out.

Take two minutes to write down the top 5-10 items on your "to do" or "to think about" list. When you're done, go back over the list and rate the items:

1. This is easy, I know just what to do, there will be no problem when I get a moment to do it.

2. I expect I'll figure out exactly what to do with no problem. I do not anticipate any procrastination or floundering or confusion on this task.

3. This is a hard one. I'm sure I can figure it out, but I will need some time.

4. This is a hard one, I'm sure I can do it, but I'm a little worried about some aspect. I think I may have problems with ______________ along the way. (Fill in: overload, confusion, blankness, floundering, procrastination, etc.)

5. This one is hard. I don't know how to tackle it, so I'll have to stretch my brain a bit to work it out.

If all your tasks are 1's and 2's, you don't need this course. This course will help you speed up 3's, and deal with 4's and 5's quicker and more effectively.

If you have 3's, 4's, and/or 5's on your to do list, this class can help you be significantly more productive with your thinking time—and therefore significantly more effective in your work.

Let's sum up what you get from your investment of $167:

Tap Your Own Brilliance CD Set.

Powerful tactics that you can apply every day in your own thinking that make it more productive, more efficient, and more pleasurable
Surprising insights into how to use what you already know more effectively
A chance to use the tactics on your own issues to solve problems during class
Edited CD's or MP3's of all four sessions
A compilation of handouts for the sessions
An unlimited opportunity to ask questions by email during the compimentary Thinking Lab period
A compilation of questions & my answers ($20 value)
Two additional CDs or MP3s "Thinking Notebooks 101" and "Using Targeted Thinking to Get What You Want." ($25 value each)
A 14-page "Thinking on Paper" pamphlet and a laminated summary sheet for quick reference ($15 combined value)
Complimentary membership in the Thinking Lab for two months (CD) or three months (MP3) so you can get more tactics, more practice, and more help ($50 or $75 value)

This is a great price for a great package.

"What did I learn from Jean's classes? I learned how to set clear, realistic goals, to access knowledge already stored in my subconscious, to overcome common barriers to thinking, to sustain thinking on difficult problems, to unclutter my mind so it would function efficiently. In other words, I learned to think better and faster."
—Virginia Tabor, Artist

Ready to Order?

Order now and learn how to get more results for your thinking effort.

Order Hard Copy CD Version here...

Order Soft Copy MP3 Download Version here...

Questions? email me, Jean Moroney, at jm@thinkingdirections.com.

"Your tactics gave me a structure for the thinking process that is helping eliminate the logjam of stalled thinking. They have freed up my mind to focus on solutions instead of floundering."
—Tim Rozycki, Chicago, IL

* * *

Attention:
Past Attendees of Thinking Tactics
You might consider buying this class

This class covers the same basic concepts as part 1 of the workshop, but with a somewhat different slant. About 1/3 of the material in this class is not covered in the Thinking Tactics Workshop at all. That includes 3 of 7 of the individual exercises, which have never been used in the workshop format.

Here's a brief analysis of what's new in each session:

Picking Someone's Brain (Yours!): Similar presentation of "Thinking on paper." New tool & exercise: "Q&A."
Lassoing Runaway Thoughts: New discussion of overload and its variants: confusion and overwhelming emotions. Includes an exercise on "Separating the Wheat from the Chaff" which was done orally in some classes, and the tool (& exercise) on "Introspection 101," which was only added to the workshop 2 years ago.
Avoiding Wasted Effort: Similar presentation of how to uncover conflicts that are causing you to flounder. Includes "Listening to the Subconscious" (may have been named "diagnosing floundering" in your class) and a new exercise on "Picturing the Path."
Triggering New Insights: New discussion of how to prod new, helpful ideas from your subconscious when it feels like you're dry, and you want or need to deal with the issue by yourself. New explanation and exercise: "Brainstorming by Your Lonesome."

So, if you'd like a fresh look at the same concepts, with more depth, this class is for you.

Want to get inexpensive access to new material as I'm developing it? All the new material in this class was previewed in the Thinking Lab. There's more great material under development, so check out the program now.