Emotional self-control is NOT the same as overcontrol, the stifling of all feeling and spontaneity....when such emotional suppression is chronic, it can impair thinking, hamper intellectual performance and interfere with smooth social interaction. By contrast, emotional competence implies we have a choice as to how we express our feelings.

Empathic, emotionally intelligent work environments have a good track record of increasing creativity, improving problem solving and raising productivity.

We learn best with focused attention. As we focus on what we're learning, the brain maps that information on what we already know making new neural connections

There is a newly coined word in the English language for the moment when the person we're with whips out their BlackBerry or answers that cell phone, and all of a sudden we don't exist. The word is 'pizzled': it's a combination of puzzled and pissed off.

Risk taking and the drive to pursue innovative ideas are the fuel that stokes the entrepreneurial spirit.

Teachers need to be comfortable talking about feelings.

The human brain is by no means fully formed at birth. It continues to shape itself through life, with the most intense growth occurring during childhood.