Personal Pattern OverlayTM
is a powerful tool to help you find new ideas and creative solutions to problems.
Human nature forces you to approach problem solving in the same manner every
time. We all go to the internet, a book or a friend and get our answers. That leads
us to the same old answers and leaves us thinking in a box.

The PPO Principal says :

" There are patterns in your life experiences, knowledge and hobbies that can
be related to the problems you encounter everyday. By using these personal
analogies, you will see  relationships that lead to many different approaches
that yield new and exciting creative solutions."

PPO can work for you whether you are an engineer assigned a difficult project or
a parent trying to raise a teen. It doesn't rely on your college degree or how many
books you've read. The power in this tool comes from inside of you and the
unusual collection of knowledge and exposure to the world you have. It is your
own unique  combination that makes it work.

I have been studying Creativity for over 20 years in all areas of life, science and
industry. It was my goal to create a tool that would allow people to think more
creatively no matter who the user was, how much education they had or where
they came from. I wanted it to be a tool that was simple but had the power to
open the users subconcious to allow them to think out of their normal patterns.  I
found that there is no such tool that 'by itself' can accomplish that. The real
power of creativity lies inside of people and a tool can be designed to tap into
that energy. I call it the PPO Cube. Here is how it works :

1. A PPO cube is a dodecahedron - a twelve sided geometric figure about 2"
tall. Plato believed the dodecahedron was the fifth element from which the
universe was made. On each of the 12 faces is a colored spot. To set up your
PPO cube, you will take a pen and write on each spot the name of something
you know a lot about. It may be a hobby, your profession, a sport you play or
even a country to which you've traveled. When you have finished, you'll find it
interesting to look and see all the things that make up you... a collection of parts
of your knowledge and life. That's where the POWER in PPO comes from -
YOU.   PPO shows you how to take your own patterns, knowledge and life
experiences as an analogy database to overlay on your problem to trigger new
ideas and solutions!

2. Next, you will take the problem or project you are working on and define it in
detail. Make sure you understand the problem and don't get clouded by
symptoms or emotions.

3. Then,  roll the cube and look at the topic that rolls up. Begin to look at
relationships between the problem and the topic which came up on the cube.

If you are having a problem at work, you might roll up cars which may generate
ideas from :
Transmission - communication/memorandums
Steering - supervision/management/leadership
Fuel system - energy/motivation
Maintenance - "am I maintaining my equipment and people so they can do
their best work?"  

If you are having a problem with dealing with another person and you rolled up
cooking - you might think of :
Recipes - "Am I dealing with this person consistently?"
Oven Temperature - "am I letting emotions get hot when they are around?"
Ingredients - "What personality traits are creating friction with this person and
how can I tone them down to make our meetings more palatable? "

If the problem is how to motivate your child in school and you rolled  tennis on
your PPO CUBE, you might think : "In tennis, if you hit your serve too early and
too hard, the ball goes out long. Maybe I'm pushing my son too hard for good
grades and it's taking the fun out of learning." Or "In tennis, if your racket is
strung too loose or your tennis balls are flat, you can't play well. You can't wear
high top basketball shoes and play well. Does my child have the tools to do well
at school? Is his vision okay? Does he have a quiet orderly place to study? Do
his clothes let him fit in socially?" Or "The best tennis I ever played was after
paying a pro for a lesson. Does my son need a tutor for some classes?" You will
generate hundreds of ideas from each roll because they are triggered by things
you DO know about! This is an incredible thinking tool and it works for anyone...
because it comes from the power inside of you!

This is easy to use and fun.  I worked to make this tool understandable, useful
and capable of generating creative thinking for everyone. If you try it, I think you
will be amazed with the results. Within months, you will adapt to thinking through
personal analogy and won't need the cube to do it! You can display it attractively
on your desk or carry it around in the velvet pouch. It's exciting to see new ideas,
inventions and solutions bubbling up from your subconscious. Ideas that never
would have occurred to you unless you opened your mind to using Personal
Pattern Overlay. What's your next great idea? If you are a farmer, an artist, a
scientist, an accountant, a computer programmer, a soldier, a housewife, a
pilot, a doctor, a bank teller, a salesrep, a soccer mom, a grocer, an internet
seller, an inventor, an engineer, a tennis pro, a stamp collector, a single parent,
a truck driver, a teacher, a janitor,  a race car driver... EVERYONE needs
creativity to better solve life's problems and live a more successful, fulfilled and
happy life.

If you are skeptical at this point, I don't blame you. We all get bombarded by
"self help, dimestore psychology, instant abs, speed reading, grow hair,
overnight tan, weightloss without exercise, triple your income " advertisements
from internet, tv, magazines and roadside signs. Let's be honest ... there's a lot
of snake oil being pushed on the market today. How do you decide what's real
and what's not? Look for proof. The best proof of PPO is how it has been
used through history. Please click on the PPO IN HISTORY button  to see how
it was used over the years by many people to come up with some of the
greatest discoveries and inventions in our world. If you are fascinated with
Creativity like I am, you'll love these true stories.