The Brain for Entrepreneurs by Maya Elhalal Levavi

Oct 4, 2010 IDC Herzliya - Zell Program, Israel Maya Elhalal-Levavi MayaElhalal.com
The Brain
For Entrepreneurs

The Brain
• How it works
• Why it can be a fickle friend to entrepreneurs
• How thoughts change its structure
• How to design yours to be your ultimate partner
• How to speak Brainish to clients and investors

Top Goal
The primary task of the brain
is to keep you in an optimal
state relative to the
environment. In every
response to stimuli and action
generated, the #1 motivation
is maximizing your chances of
survival. In the process, it also
generates experiences. They
are highly subjective.
The Human Brain Book by Rita Carter

Pizza Brain
If you smoothed out all the
wrinkles in the cortex, the
brain would cover the area of
a large pizza.

Ultra
Connected
The brain has 100B neurons.
That’s more potential
connections than atoms in
the universe.

Speed
Neurons transmit information
at a speed of 1-100
meters/second

"God gave men a
brain and a penis
and only enough
blood to run one at
a time."
Robin Williams

Brain magic happens when millions of neurons
collaborate. They communicate in impulses - brief
‘spike’ of electricity traveling through a neuron.
Like so...

Nerve Cell & Axons

Electrical Impulse

Impulse is Ion Wave

Polarization

Depolarization

Re-polarization

Communication
Protocol
Our image of networks leads us to think they are,
but neurons in a network are actually not in physical
contact. They’re separated by incredibly thin gap.
To pass nerve impulses among themselves they use
communications sites called Synapses.

Crossing the Gap

Opening Channels

Triggering the Target

Lizards to Humans
1. Reptilian Brain - balance and coordination
2. Mammalian Brain - automatic & 4F (that F too)
3. Neocortex - seat of awareness
To go to the top of the food chain, our brain evolved:

Emotional Brain
Emotions are physiological responses designed to
push us away from danger and toward reward.
Much of the time we are unaware of them. That
doesn’t mean these emotions don’t effect our actions
and decisions. They sure do. Subconsciously.
When emotions cross a certain intensity threshold we
experience the electric storm as a conscious “feeling”.

“According to most studies,
people's number one fear is
public speaking. Number two is
death. Death is number two.
Does that sound right? This
means to the average person, if
you go to a funeral, you're
better off in the casket than
doing the eulogy.”
Jerry Seinfeld

Brain Panic Button
The amygdala is our panic button. It“tastes” all stimuli
and signals others area to produce appropriate
emotional reactions. Like “fight or flight”. It kind of
failed to adapt to modern life and may see a pitch to
investors as a bear that’s chasing you. Often, it’s
triggered at the most inappropriate timing. Like when
you’re about to step out of your comfort zone and
take a risk doing something new or bigger or better.

"Our deepest fear is
not that we are
inadequate. Our
deepest fear is that
we are powerful
beyond measure."
Marianne Williamson

Frontal Lobe is the seat
of entrepreneurship.
It allows us to hold a
thought like: “I’m going
to observe a different
outcome. And I’m going
to hold on to this
observation,
independently of the
feedback from by body,
environment and time.”

“The frontal lobe gives
us permission to make
a thought more real
than anything else. To
hold on to a concept,
an idea, a vision or a
dream, independent of
circumstances. And
those are the traits that
we secretly admire in all
great people”.
Dr. Joe Dispenza

Such ideas clashe with Brain Goal #1.
Specifically, your Amygdala doesn’t enjoy that kind of
thinking. And it may sabotage your efforts consciously and
subconsciously. Procrastination, fear of public speaking, and
creative rationalizations to drop your idea are just a few
tricks to keep you away from what it perceives as risk.

Mental Training

Navy Seals
Are trained to override amygdala commands with
frontal lobe decisions by:
• Goal Setting
• Mental Rehearsal
• Self Talk
• Arousal Control

“Scientists have
proven that it's
impossible to long-
jump 30 feet, but I
don't listen to that
kind of talk.
Thoughts like that
have a way of
sinking into your
feet.”
Carl Lewis

Why Lift a Finger?

Power Visualization
1992 Journal of Neurophysiology
• Group A: repeatedly pulling on a string
• Group B: visualizing pulling the string
• Control Group: doing nothing

Miraculously
A month later
• Group A: 30% increase in muscle strength
• Group B: 22% increase in muscle strength
• Control Group: no increase

Specialized Areas

Functional MRI
shows us how they
light up.
Cells that fire
together, wire
together.

Memory
The re-creation of past experiences by the
synchronous firing of neurons what were involved in
the original experience.
Where were you when The Twins fell?
What’s the next idea your where going to talk about?

Photographic Memory

Memory Loss

Memory Growth
The Enlarged Hypocampus of London Taxi Drivers

Neuroplasticity
• Nature and Nurture
• Learning changes our synaptic wiring
• It can even override genetically programmed modules
You have the capacity to wire your brain
How could we have overlook this for so many years?

The Missing Link

Biggest Science Hoax

“Science advances
one funeral at a
time”
Max Planck

Mechanistic Bias

Thoughts
Change
Brain
Structure
Nobel Prize
Eric Kandel, 2000
Physiology of Memory

"As a Man thinketh
in his heart, so he is"
The Book of
Proverbs chapter
23, verse 7

Acquired Happiness
Mattieu Ricard

Placebo Effect

Pain Killing VR

My Favorites
Books That Made Me Change My Mind

“I saw people rewire
their brains with their
thoughts, to cure
previously incurable
obsessions and
traumas.”
Norman Doidge

Explaining how
thoughts can create
chemical reactions
that keep you
addicted to patterns
and feelings—
including ones that
make you unhappy.
And how to grow
better habits.

With some super
cool interactive brain
imaging maps and
videos

Rule #4
We don’t pay
attention to boring
things.

To predict ad and
message effectiveness,
we can now use eye
tracking

and EEG

Hemispheric
sensitive design:
Images on the left,
text on the right.
Neurofocus - The Why of Buy

Leverage the brains
natural attraction to
novelty and
familiarity

Feed it puzzles

Brains love
Motion
Novelty
Error
Ambiguity

Show human faces

Lead with emotion

Help men advance

Men are motivated
by competition

Sex sells.
Sometimes

Appeal to men’s
spatial awareness

Help women
connect

Women are wired to
look at infants and
young children.

?

“There are always three
speeches for every one you
actually gave: The one you
practices, the one you gave
and the one you wish you
gave”
Dale Carnegie

Go to www.MayaElhalal.com for more

The Brain for Entrepreneurs by Maya Elhalal Levavi

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