Why Brainthrough?

After two decades in the music industry, leading e-commerce and investing in Africa, building high-growth startups, mentoring founders around the world, I am hungry to understand more. How can we better harness the brain’s capabilities?

We use our brains every day, yet we know so little about them.

It’s the one tool we carry around, it uses a significant portion of our daily energy.

Understanding the architecture of our brains, can help us to make sense of our own and others’ behaviour and decisions. Now we can optimize for specific outcomes, proven by science.

This knowledge is crucial for making informed choices, both personally (think relationships, kids) and professionally. Hello, if you are calling yourself a manager, founder, coach, athlete, mum, dad or student.

Understanding the root cause of my own reactions has helped me to eliminate certain behaviours and reduce fears, that often put handbrakes on my decision-making in the past.

This is what put me on the path to “Brainthrough”.

In every aspect of our lives

Do you have kids?

The first years are so crucial for brain development, but nobody teaches us anything about it.

At least, nobody talked to us about it when we had our first child.

I did not know, that by the age of two, an infant’s brain has about double the amount of synapsis (neural connections) than adults, while pruning unused and weak connections through later childhood and adolescence.

New parents hardly know what stimuli infants and young children need for the brain to develop in an optimal and lasting way.

This alone is enough reason to learn more.

Or fast track forward into the adult’s life. Ever heard of bias?

Bias - influenced by culture, skin colour, gender, age - costs employees and employers, founders, entrepreneurs and investors billions of dollars in economic growth annually.

Bias is basically the brain's pursuit of energy-efficient pathways, as it requires less energy to send signals via strong neuro highways. This is how culture sets in.

It is prone to be biased.

Is that an excuse?

No, absolutely not! It needs to be overcome and consciously worked on.

Just think about the impact less biased decision-making will have on millions of people every day around the world.

Then there is health

Mental health issues like burnout, depression, addiction, ADHD, and dementia are on the rise.

These conditions are linked to the brain’s structure and continuous restructuring, sometimes in ways we have not yet fully understood.

Tech in use is immensely fascinating. While AI is definitely hot out there, it is not just about software.

Brain stimulation can reduce the effects of ADHD or Parkinson's.

Brain interfaces assist disabled people to move, communicate and live better lives. And no, no - not all of them have to drill a whole in a persons' skull.

Improved research and technological advances have been moving the needle in the last couple of years. There is no sign this progress will slow down and help earlier diagnosis and better treatment. It will help so many people, reduce costs on insurers, governments and personal, mental burdens on people who have to care for their loved ones. If you don’t believe me, watch this.

What if?

So, what if more knowledge about the brain can reduce the stress of our busy lives? There is real evidence, that stress impacts the brain in terrible ways, while there are easy countermeasures.

What if more knowledge about neuroscience and everyday tools can help to be more focused, more productive and just help to make better decisions as a partner, as a parent or in a professional environment.

What if more knowledge can just make us healthier? There is research on how positive thinking and reframing increases longevity, can reduce stress, increase serotonin and dopamine levels.

To quote David Eagleman, a leading neuroscientist, researcher, and author:

There are many other reasons, why the combination of neuroscience, management best practices and technology has been an exciting rabbit hole for me for many years and I think it is about time to bring all of this to you.

Here I am introducing my way to dig deeper into the deep rabbit hole: “Brainthrough”.

Every Thursday I will go deeper into specific topics.

Every Sunday I will share links, research and other fascinating stuff. I’ll call it a lazy Sunday.

Hop on. See you soon.

Alex