Gen X: A Manual for The Generation of Masterminds and Lost Minds

Shonté Jovan Taylor has simplified neuroscience research and distilled these complex strategies into tangible lessons that will allow you to:

• Manage and regulate your thoughts, behaviors, emotions, and communications

• Lead current and future generations more authentically and confidently

• Influence positive change within your organization, teams and personal relationships

• Find your peak mental performance sweet spot to get things done more efficiently and effectively

• Tap into unlimited creativity and insights needed to solve problems now as well as in the future

• Optimize your leadership potential, professional life and personal development.

Gen X

A Manual For the Generation of Masterminds and Lost Minds

SHONTE’ JOVAN TAYLOR, PhD

www.genxminds.com

~~~

Smashwords Edition

2014

Copyright © 2014

by Shonte’ Jovan Taylor

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used, reproduced, scanned or distributed in print, electronic form or in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the Publisher is illegal and punishable by law.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Please purchase only authorized print and electronic editions. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

For information address: Crystal City Publishing, LLC.,

P.O. Box 64-1181, Los Angeles, CA 90064

ISBN: 978-0-9916231-4-3 (Softcover)

ISBN: 978-0-9916231-5-0 (Hardcover)

ISBN: 978-0-9916231-3-6 (eBook)

Publisher – Crystal City Publishing, LLC.

Cover Design – Madison McClintock

www.madisonjmcclintock.com

Editing – Eric and Crystal City Editing Team

Crystal City Publishing, LLC

P.O. Box 64-1181

Los Angeles, CA 90064

www.CrystalCityPublishing.com

DEDICATION

To my wonderful husband, Dr. Robert Taylor (I know you don’t like to use your well-earned title), thank you for letting me become Me. To my wonderful children Uriel, Naomi, and Adam, I pray that you are now receiving the best of me. To my parents, Patricia Stewart and Abinadab Israel, and my other parental guides Lance Stewart and Bathyah Israel, thank you for shaping my mind and planting the seeds of possibility.

Thank you to my siblings for choosing me on your journey in this lifetime. Thank you to my friends (sooooo many to name) who listened to my endless dreams, aspirations, and brain talk. I hope this book inspires you!

Thank you to those who saw the potential in my idea to write this book and who believes in my message of empowering minds to change the world.

Thank you to my grandmothers, grandfathers, and ancestors who paved my path.

Thank you to those who have spent hours in the lab and written volumes about the brain, helping to unveil its mysteries.

Thank you to the ones who now holds this book in your hands. I am honored.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Message From the Author

Introduction

1: Current State of Mental Affairs

Chapter 1

2: Journey to My Mental Potential

Chapter 2

3: Know Thy Brain, Know Thyself

Chapter 3

4: Manage Your Brain’s Emotions

Chapter 4

5: Find and Activate Your Mental Peak Performance Sweet Spot

Chapter 5

6: Increase Your Insights and Enhance Your Creativity to the 10th Power

Chapter 6

7: Lead Yourself First, Then Others Will Follow

Chapter 7

8: The New and Improved Generation X Leaders

Chapter 8

Reference

About the Author

Follow Shonté

Acknowledgments

I give all praises to the Creator of the heavens and the universe for allowing me the will and knowledge to write this book. All of the experiences, knowledge and people that I have encountered are of divine providence.

I am the product of all of my successes and challenges, friends or foes, which led me to something much bigger than myself.

Message From the Author

The purpose of this book is to share how the latest advancements in neuroscience can improve our everyday lives. This book does not serve as a substitute for mental or medical treatments as directed by a physician. However, the content is based upon sound research conducted by research doctors. Therefore, you can get the most out of your life by discussing the strategies with a professional and incorporating them within your mental treatment plan if you are on one. For those looking to amplify their lives in general, to become SUPER BRAIN WONDERS, these strategies are safe and can be used all or in part.

The tremendous value in this book can be attributed to my own education, personal and professional experiences, scientific research, and authors on the subject. I have ensured that names, direct quotes, and original ideas have been referenced either in-text or in the reference section.

I believe that we are made up of past ideas, concepts, and information that we put together in our own unique way. I want to thank those who came before me who have shaped my thoughts and have contributed to my unique approach of conveying this scientific phenomenon.

Introduction

Change

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

- President Barack Obama, Gen X-er – well, kind of…

Who is Gen X?

There has been a lot of hoopla around Baby Boomers and Generation Y (or Millennials). You know them. The ones born between 1946-1964 and the mid-1980’s-early 2000’s, respectively. But what happened to Gen X? You know, that generation in the middle, born between the mid-1960’s and early 1980’s (roughly). The go-go boot wearers. The disco queens and kings. The Pac-Man players. The self-directed latch-key kid generation who grew up to take on leadership roles as managers, executives, and supervisors. Who grew tired of the 9-to-5 jobs and jumped on the bandwagons that consisted of computers, food, fashion, and fun.

Yeah, that’s us. It’s like we were skipped in the conversation - ignored. Victims of the middle-child syndrome. Gen X-ers are the ones making it happen now. As Jeff Gordiner so eloquently writes, Gen X-ers are doing the quiet work of keeping America from sucking. And it’s true! We are the ones who reshaped political outcomes, revolutionized the technology industry, and turned the food world upside down and inside out. We are the unorthodox generation that revolutionized the social world with Facebook and Twitter. We have connected the entire planet on a grander scale than any generation, EVER. We are Google. We are YouTube. We are Amazon. We are the delectable street food carts filled with ousted, lone ranger chefs catering to the new foodies of Gen X (I know I am definitely one of them). We are the food truckies who couldn’t borrow $20K from our parents or get a bank loan for a storefront. So some us bought used trucks, tricked them out, and customized them into a culinary phenomenon.

So why are we missing in water cooler conversations? Why are we missing from future economic conversations and projections from the media? The media predominantly focuses on the needs of Baby Boomers. Their focus on the needs of Gen Y is for them to become educated and prepared to replace us – Gen X.

Yes, these issues are important. But what are we? Chopped liver? We are setting up a stage for Gen Y to shine upon. We are patiently waiting for Baby Boomers to finally retire because they vastly outnumber all other generations, creating a bottleneck in the work world, politics, and power. But once they do, we will stoically take over the reins of the Baby Boomers and transition into organizations and industry leaders merging the traditional world with the flexibility of the modern world.

OK. Yes, there are some of us who still remain in a professional and personal crisis mode in this modern-day system. I mean, with all of our advancements, it is still challenging to navigate this brave new world. To balance the checkbook. To be emotionally available to our children, spouses, and friends. It is challenging to hold all the roles and the elements of your life together - I get it! Here’s one quarter-life crisis expert’s theory – perhaps it’s not quite your fault:

"Modern America seems far from the idea of instituting moratoriums and rites of passage to determine a person’s identity. Instead, the culture appears to promote the idea that a person’s sense of self be closely associated through one’s job, spouse, or lifestyle. This mentality may have sufficed a few generations ago, however, these institutions are showing their limitations.

For several generations, people’s identities were closely associated with their jobs. Therefore, the idea of a rite of passage may have shifted into a career development model. The career model neglects the significance of adolescents finding their own identity and replaces it with mastering a professional trade. Often a child would start their career in the same industry as their parent. They would begin as an apprentice then advance to a craftsman, artisan, and finally become a master. The child would have a mentor along the way to teach and pass along the knowledge and the responsibility of each level. However, with the advancement of technology, new industries have arisen without any mentors to pass along the trade. Therefore, this model seems to become outdated.

America’s culture of consumerism and materialism has promoted the idea that identity can be bought."

~Kirk Akahoshi,

Quarter Life Crisis Expert

So there are reasons for why we have not all reached our potential. But there are solutions to help us reach our potential. I have written this book not to explain how awesome we are, but, in part, to put us back into the water cooler conversations. And more importantly, I’ve written this book to provide ways for us to soar even further in present and future times. Our identities can no longer be bought, or limited, or rigidly defined. We are the bold new thought leaders of today that are looking for advanced ways to take our careers, organizations, leadership skills, businesses, personal and work relationships, insights, and levels of creativity to whole new heights. This book seeks to EMPOWER Generation X with the knowledge of the most technologically advanced yet mysterious entity on the planet: THE BRAIN. Understanding how the brain operates will EMBOLDEN those who have soared to the top of their organizations. ENHANCE The Creatives. ENRICH the potential of entrepreneurs. And ENLIVEN those stuck minds that still need to navigate their lives, to find their purpose and place during this great era.

By understanding how the brain works, we can begin to tap into the processes that help us to regulate thinking and emotions, our abilities to find solutions, and improve our interactions to influence others. With this knowledge, Gen X will move past any mental limitations, both consciously and unconsciously. Only then can we truly become self-actualized, lead others effectively, and serve our organizations and communities from our higher, authentic selves.

We all have the ability to master these needs mentally. The need to feel safe, the need to feel accepted, the ability to make sound decisions, and the ability to adequately care for ourselves. I set out on my adult journey to accomplish this. I struggled in many mental and psychological areas, but then I gained control of these processes. I became a teenage mother and braved the new world on my own at 16 years old. While others were enjoying their junior prom, I was changing diapers and trying to figure out how I would take care of myself and a baby. Alone. I figured education was the key, so I studied psychology, neuroscience, everyday people, spiritual gurus, and leaders within organizations. I studied to understand their strengths and their pitfalls. This new knowledge helped me to fill in my mental, emotional, and developmental gaps and eventually transcend my potential.

These principles and strategies are now accessible to you by reading this book. I will teach you how to manage your brain, to not only reach your potential, but to transcend your potential for a better life.

Why should brain scientists have all the fun and be the only ones with knowledge about the potential of the brain? This book will provide the essentials – what you need to know about the brain to understand and heighten your mental abilities to finally launch yourself forward and beyond where you currently are. You will be able to