What Distinguishers Original Thinkers from the Rest of Us?

The president of Los Angeles-based Awaken.com, Henry Gellis also leads Gellis Investment Management, which has invested in a number of companies working in stress reduction, health, and nutrition. To get inspired, Henry Gellis enjoys talking to some of the most original thinkers alive today. 

Some people may wonder if there is a way to distinguish original thinkers from the crowd. Psychologist Adam Grant set out to answer this question and spent years studying the most cutting-edge minds of our generation. His studies identified three common traits of all original thinkers. The first of these traits, perhaps surprisingly, is procrastination. While procrastinators typically take more time to finish a project, research has shown that their end results tend to be much more creative. According to Grant, this creativity results from procrastinators taking the time to consider new, outside-the-box possibilities.

The second common trait is that original thinkers tend to have a large number of ideas. Not all of these ideas are necessarily good, but original thinkers have several that they would be willing to bet on being successful. Grant acknowledges that original thinkers tend to fail often, but they are willing to try. 

Some people may think original thinkers are fearless, but this is not true. In fact, says Grant, fear is the third common trait. However, these individuals tend to use their doubt to improve their ideas rather than hold them back. Because of doubt, original thinkers tend to continue refining their ideas to be as good as possible.

A Helpful Guide for Vegetarians Traveling in Thailand

Henry Gellis is the owner of Gellis Investment Management in Los Angeles, California. Outside of his professional responsibilities, Henry Gellis has spent a lot of time traveling. As he tries to limit his consumption of animal products, he has experience ordering vegetarian cuisine in many countries, including Thailand. 

While Thailand can prove extremely friendly to vegetarians, individuals need to understand the philosophy of eating in this country. First, visitors need to understand that vegetarian in Thai means that people do not eat chunks of meat or fish. In other words, meat stock, fish sauce, eggs, and similar ingredients are allowed. For that reason, some people may want to order vegan dishes. However, even vegan has a different meaning. Vegan foods contain no animal products or garlic, and certain herbs and vegetables may be left out.

Some dishes in Thailand are typically vegetarian, such as pad pak ruam prik gaeng, which consists of mixed vegetables cooked in chili curry paste and kaffir lime leaves. Another option is pad pak gachet, which is stir-fried water mimosa, a delicious Thai vegetable that grows underwater. Individuals can also order vegetarian pad gra pao het jay, which replaces pork with mushrooms. In all of these cases, it can be helpful to ask for no fish sauce, which is commonly used in restaurants.