The Vigorous Mind: Cross-train Your Brain to Break Through Mental, Emotional, and Professional Boundaries

By Ingrid Cummings

Book Overview

Learn how to 'Cross-Train Your Brain.' Here's why: To make the most of your precious leisure time. The Vigorous Mind will address that most fundamental of questions: How Shall I Spend My Time?... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0757306985
• ISBN13: 9780757306983
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Hci
• Length: 326 Pages
• Weight: 0.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Innovation through mental diversity

While reading Ingrid Cummings' The Vigorous Mind, I was reminded of the cancer victim whose career background as a broadcast radio executive led to a breakthrough in the shrinking of tumors using radio waves. Cummings' book is both a paean to the virtues of Renaissance thinking and a practical guide to integrating a Renaissance perspective with the Eastern concept of kaizen as a means of mental cross-training. The possibility that the radio executive/cancer patient's familiarity with the physics of radio led him to imagine a new way to treat cancer is a tantalizing notion. One of the strengths of Cummings' book is that it is filled with examples of persons - Meriwether Lewis, Winston Churchill and Henry Ford, among many others - whose lives illustrate the value of a "generalist" approach. One can think of others, such as Billy Graham or Neil Armstrong - if their life-trajectories were solely defined by the boundaries and constraints of their youthfully narrow dreams, we in the twentieth century might have known much less about subjects as diverse as the nature of Protestant evangelism and the nature of the lunar surface. Ingrid Cummings champions wide-range thinking that frequently runs counter to much of our current notions of success, but ironically is has brought the free, civilized world breakthrough accomplishments in commerce, technology, art, political thought, and more. While acknowledging that professional specialization has its place (in the surgery suite, for example), she makes a strong case for the value of a generalist perspective in improving virtually every area of our lives. Behind the author's easy and entertaining style lies a well thought-out premise that the trend toward increasing specialization deserves serious re-evaluation.

Boost Your Spirits While You Boost Mind

If you're in the market for a boost to your morale, The Vigorous Mind is just the ticket. I guarantee it'll invigorate your spirit, as it teaches you how to invigorate your mind. In her well-written book, author Ingrid Cummings presents a delightful read, with her easy style, clever turns-of-phrase and laugh-out-loud perspectives on life. It's patently clear Ms. Cummings is a highly intelligent and witty individual. She also did her homework, for her book is practical, logical, and comprehensive. These days, so many of us are fully focused on our chosen occupations. Yet there's so much more out there in that big, wide world. Things we've always wanted to know more about and activities we've always wished we could try. But, in the face of ongoing daily demands, we become resigned to the sad thought that, for us, those days of enjoying life in all its facets are long past and gone. But Ingrid tells us it's not too late. She offers us hope through her sensible and can-do training book. In it, Ingrid teaches the powerful philosophy of kaizen and shows us how to apply it. With the use of kaizen, an ancient Japanese practice, Ingrid asserts we can accomplish amazing feats. If we approach our goals by taking little steps toward them every day, over the course of time, Yes, we can achieve those objectives. Through daily installments of only 20-minutes each, we can learn to play chess or master the piano; become skilled in watercoloring or adept at wood working; even obtain another college degree...the choices are limitless. All undertaken purely for our own pleasure and amazement. In the process, our outlooks, careers, relationships, our very lives are enriched. We become happier, healthier, and much more interesting and productive people, living life to the fullest. Charming Ms Cummings writes in an engaging and comfortable way. It's almost as if she's just stopped by for a friendly chat. Her words are inspiring and uplifting. I highly recommend The Vigorous Mind.

Unique approach to self improvement

I bought this book after seeing it mentioned in a couple of book blogs I follow. The author makes an intriguing (and well-researched) case for the benefits of a Renaissance mindset - developing interests in lots of disciplines, competencies in multiple activities. She argues that we do ourselves a disservice by concentrating our lives in ever-more narrow directions, and that "generalizing" our interests and experience has the seemingly ironic result of making us more effective in our often highly-specialized professional lives, and happier and more fulfilled personally. The prospect of making the changes she advocates can seem daunting, but she introduces the ancient Japanese concept of kaizen, taking small, easily manageable steps over brief periods of time, to acquire new skills and interests. Ingrid Cummings' writing is accessible, and enthusiastic - for example, she uses lots of alliteration, which helped me retain many of her concepts. She includes lots of exercises at the end of each chapter in Part 2, but it doesn't have the feel of a "workbook", with each exercise to be completed before moving on to the next - indeed, she suggests (in the spirit of kaizen) choosing to try one or two at a time. Self-improvement is a broad literary category, and this book has lots of competition for readership, but it's a work with a literate and entertaining style, and I found the author's premise that a generalist approach can have many practical benefits to be novel, and compelling.

A must read

I was pulled in with the first page and Cummings didn't disappoint. Easy read. I plan to hand this book out as a gift to friends and co-workers, struggling or settled in their path. Looking forward to Cummings' next publication.

The Vigorous Mind: energizing!

The Vigorous Mind: Cross-train Your Brain to Break Through Mental, Emotional, and Professional Boundaries The author's imagery makes this book easy to follow which makes it easy to practice the exercises. And the activities are designed to fit my busy, multi-tasking life. Inspiring quotes sprinkled throughout are well-placed to generate additional self-reflection. Many self-help books grace my bookshelves, but this one will stay on my beside table for re-reading.