A Beautiful Mind:: We ask - what price Genius?

Brand Killer Robots reveal::

If you haven't seen the film "A Beautiful Mind", then make sure you scan it soon. Starring Russell Crowe, a young but brilliant mathematician wins a place at one of Americas most prestigious universities, where he is expected to contribute works to the highest standard, in order to secure a position at one of U.S top military intelligence establishments. Unlike his peers, John Nash decides to reject the brief he is given by Professor Einstein, in favour of finding what he calls "his original idea". As he struggles to make any contribution at all, his peers are busy at work producing effective works, to the level required by the professor. Close to breaking point and entering a world of schizophrenia, where imaginary friends begin to enter his life, a series of events occur around John which brings him to the point of revelation - "his conception- a new form of bargaining strategy - where everybody wins, as long as they consider both themself and everybody else". His "orginal work" has stood the test of time and his strategies have been applied in many walks of life from financial markets to retail to biological studies.

What John had managed to do was to take the path of 'most resistance' and face it out until it drove him to mental illness. He decided to take risks that others would never take. He decided that it wasn't enough to reach the highest standards set by one of the greatest minds that ever lived. He decided it wasn't enough to contribute works to a standard where he would be acknowledged and safe.

He decided that his own worth was less than his own art and nothing was going to stop him, not even his own mental health.

So we ask - what price genius?

Executive Meltdown: The Real Truth behind executive stress, anxiety and panic attacks?

Brand Killer Robots reveal::

After six months on my knees, taking anti-depressants, dilgently attending counselling sessions and reading everything on the Net about every condition from schizophrenia, to multiple personality disorder to anxiety disorder, i finally realised what had been wrong with me.

I had allowed myself to be pushed too far

In fact, i had accepted being pushed too far

Until one day I stopped - doing anything at all

Stopped in order to get back in control

I realised that i had over done things

I realised that i should only do things when in control

So i started doing things only when in control

Then i realised that none of us are really in control of our lives

So i decided to start doing things knowing that i wasn't in control

Slowly but surely, doing more and more things - knowing that i was not in control

I realised that it was good to do things, knowing that i was not in control

But to realise the dangers of pushing myself to far, to soon

And so it was that i re-learnt how to be in control, even though i knew that i wasn't in control.

Why schizophrenia could be an asset to your brand - A defective or beautiful mind?

Brand Killer Robot reveal::

How many extremely smart people with mental illnesses have been ostracized by their peers and constructively dumped out in the middle of nowhere by the management team of the day? How many of these people could have added significantly to your brand, if you found it in your heart to understand them? Ask yourself, how much investment would it have taken to do this and more importantly - what might the return on investment have been?

If we all thought the same - how competitive might we be?

If we were all unwilling to challenge - how competitive might we be?

If we were all unable to accept each others differences - how effective as human beings might we be?

Anyone with a background living with MPS (multiple personality syndrome) or schizophrenia would be able to tell you just how competitive you could have been. Attached is a rather enlightening article for you, discussing the creative mind of schizophrenia sufferer Stuart Baker-Brown.

Produced by the BBC entitled "The beautiful mind"

Stuart Baker-Brown, 43, a photographer and writer based in Dorset, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1996. On World Mental Health Day, he delivers a unique personal insight into how his condition has nurtured his artistic expression.

In the past, schizophrenia has broken my life and taken away many of life's opportunities, such as work and the ability to interact with society and family or even myself.
The symptoms have been very disabling and destructive and have included psychosis (delusion and hallucinations) which is understood to be a disturbance of sensory perception and creates the inability to recognise reality from the unreal.

Other daily symptoms, such as depression, suicidal thoughts, the feeling of being controlled by outside forces, paranoia and fear of persecution, have made life very difficult to cope with.
There is also the stigma and discrimination attached to the condition, especially the perceived link to violence - less than 1% of those diagnosed are violent towards others.
I believe the condition is very misunderstood, especially the link with creativity.

The Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky; Nobel prize winner in economics, John Nash (A Beautiful Mind); novelist, poet and writer, Jack Kerouac; and musicians such as Peter Green, Syd Barrett and James Beck Gordon have all either experienced, or are believed to have experienced, schizophrenia in some form.

For the complete article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7037314.stm