SQUIRCLE: A New Way to THINK for a NEW WORLD

By Francis P. Cholle

**Wall Street Journal and USA Today Best Seller**

Discover SQUIRCLE, the science-based model designed to enhance the way we think. 

In a world that's growing more complex, we need to rely on new abilities to move through life with confidence.

SQUIRCLE enables reason (SQU

• Language: English
• Publisher: SQUIRCLE Academy
• Release date: Aug 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781735138411

Book preview

Praise for SQUIRCLE

At a historical time when probably more than ever we need to rethink the way we think, SQUIRCLE offers a fresh sustainable path forward and a decisive business competitive advantage.

CAROLINE BROWN, MANAGING DIRECTOR,

INVESTMENT FIRM CLOSED LOOP PARTNERS, NEW YORK CITY, NY

SQUIRCLE infuses the power of nature back into modern life. Once you discover this practical and profound tool, it will quickly become your guiding force.

DEBORAH BURNS, FORMER CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER,

HACHETTE MEDIA, NEW YORK CITY, NY

SQUIRCLE is the book for those of us who suspected logical analysis may not provide all the solutions in life. In his new book, Cholle offers a refreshingly simple concept for a more comprehensive approach: If we allow our intuition, gut feelings and emotions to inform our decision-making, we will arrive at novel answers to many problems that we had tackled for a long time. This holistic jump will catapult us to the next level of understanding the world around us. SQUIRCLE is not just a thought-provoking resource and a workbook for business teams; it is a must-read for physicians, for scientists and for leaders in all fields.

MATTHIAS STELZNER, MD, FACS, PROFESSOR OF SURGERY &

DEPARTMENT CHAIR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES/VA,

GREATER LOS ANGELES, CA

My career started in media and I work today in entertainment. Both industries keep being disrupted. Personal reinvention is daily routine. From first-hand experience SQUIRCLE is both fun and effective and made a radical difference in the way I now adapt to change.

PHILIPPE GUELTON, PRESIDENT AND HEAD OF VOD NETWORKS,

CRACKLE PLUS TV AND CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENT,

NEW YORK CITY, NY

When I first discovered SQUIRCLE, I immediately thought: ‘This is what women business owners need today’

HILARY LENTINI, CALIFORNIA WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP EXPERT.

FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, LENTINI DESIGN & MARKETING,

LOS ANGELES, CA

My direct reports and I worked with Cholle. We all embraced a SQUIRCLE mindset. I saw my team of finance and IT executives transform in front of my eyes over a two-day offsite.

OLIVIER LEONETTI, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER &

TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES, CHICAGO, IL

It’s as simple as it gets, yet quite truthfully mind-blowing. Square gives us structure. Circle gives us energy. Today we need both probably more than ever

FLORENCE DEPREZ-WRIGHT, AUTHOR, TV PRODUCER, LOS ANGELES, CA

For Olympic Games athletes, to reach peak performance demands strenuous training, but in the end, it is all about the right mindset. Before, during and after the competition, to bring mind and body into synergy makes a world of difference to reach the top of the podium.

CARLOS LAMADRID, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT,

US SKI AND SNOWBOARD FOUNDATION, PARK CITY, UTAH

I relish in Cholle’s ability to turn inside out the way we approach life. Everyone needs to read this book. SQUIRCLE is brilliant!

BARBARA STEHLÉ, PHD. ART HISTORIAN, FOUNDER, ART INTELLIGENTSIA,

JERSEY CITY, NJ

When we stop to consider that half the class of 2030 will be in occupations that have not yet been conceptualized, solving problems that have hitherto not been articulated, it strikes me that the most successful employees of the future will implicitly embody the SQUIRCLE way of thinking.

MICHAEL MANISKA, HEAD OF SCHOOL,

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF LOS ANGELES – LILA, LOS ANGELES, CA

A very astute take on profoundly important new insights. It’s all kind of genius. Bravo!

NATACHA POLAERT, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, OFF PARADISE,

CONTEMPORARY ART GALLERY, NEW YORK CITY, NY

Cholle is a master communicator whose SQUIRCLE model, techniques and tools for expanding creativity in order to find innovative solutions to problems can help everyone, no matter what field they’re in.

DANIEL MILDER, DIRECTOR AND PRODUCER, JERSEY CITY, NJ

ISBN: 978-1-7351384-1-1

Protected by the United States Copyright Office.

Copyright © 2020 Francis P. Cholle - SQUIRCLE Academy

All rights reserved.

SQUIRCLE™ and the SQUIRCLE design

are trademarks owned by Francis P. Cholle.

All illustrations in the book

are copyrights owned by Francis P. Cholle.

© 2020 Francis P. Cholle - SQUIRCLE Academy.

All rights are reserved.

A la que sabe.

contents

AUTHOR’S NOTE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1

A New Way to Perform Better (With Less Effort)

CHAPTER 2

The Square Mindset

CHAPTER 3

Square vs. Circle: A Controversial Relationship

CHAPTER 4

Meet SQUIRCLE. You Will Never Forget It!

CHAPTER 5

Square and Circle Together

CHAPTER 6

The SQUIRCLE Game

CHAPTER 7

What is your SQUIRCLE Preference?

CHAPTER 8

SQUIRCLE & You

CHAPTER 9

SQUIRCLE & Others

CHAPTER 10

SQUIRCLE & Time

CHAPTER 11

SQUIRCLE Stories

CONCLUSION

Bibliography

Notes

Acknowledgments

About the author

author’s note

The physical world is real. That is supposed to be the fundamental hypothesis. . . It appears to me that the real is an intrinsically empty, meaningless category (pigeonhole), whose monstrous importance lies only in the fact that I can do certain things in it and not certain others.¹

—ALBERT EINSTEIN

It’s not about peace on earth,

but about peace with Earth.

—TIOKASIN GHOSTHORSE, 2016 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE NOMINEE

When I was a young child, an unsettling dream kept visiting me. An anonymous voice would repeatedly tell me that my dream world was reality and that my daily life was illusory. I would awaken, bewildered by this reversal, and struggle to determine which realm was my actual life. The dream also had a language all its own that my family, all of whom were scientists by trade, could not translate. This language, I realized later in life, was as different from regular language as my mind was from theirs. The dream eventually left me as I got older, disappearing behind a veil of unresolved feelings.

Since then, I have always been drawn to the mysterious, to what is hidden underneath or alongside. I have examined and turned the pages of my life, striving to understand myself and my place in the world. After receiving a master’s degree in the science of management, more unconventional paths have stretched me and brought peace: art publishing in Paris, theater and opera in New York, yoga in India, even a degree in clinical psychology. All have shaped my personal take on life and provided me with insights into human nature, as well as a concern for the sustainability of the modern world and the need to reexamine the way we think.

When I sit on a beach, I enjoy being in a vast, expansive space and seeing the horizon far away and an open sky above. Intuitions abound when pensive, alone in nature. One day, looking at Santa Monica Bay from a beach north of the Malibu pier, I could not fathom what I was seeing as a plane crossing the sky caught my eye. A menacing, brownish-gray cloud of pollution was suspended over the shoreline. In a flash, I saw just how the human mind, which had been capable of engineering and perfecting even a way to fly, could also recklessly disregard nature. Modern prosperity has been made possible largely by the powerful forces of science, but without our realizing it, the scientific mindset of rigor, predictability, and careful experimentation has translated into a culture of dominance and control designed to combat our fear of nature and stifle its unpredictability. In the name of progress, we approach life in linear ways. We have disconnected from the parts of ourselves that are not about rationality, including our sensations, emotions, and deeper perceptions. We tamp down the natural instincts that are essential for us to thrive, just as they are for every other creature on the planet. Suddenly and profoundly, I was absolutely certain that feelings and intuition were every bit as important for positive, sustainable decision-making as discipline and rigor. A vision for a new way to balance body and mind, being and doing, instinct and rationality was born within me. Only later did I realize that this deeper understanding of reality was in fact the calling given me in my childhood dream. SQUIRCLE does not intend to label these opposing tendencies as good or bad or to put anyone in one category or another. Obviously each one of us is more complex than this simple model, and we all evolve as we go through life. As you become familiar with SQUIRCLE, you will be able to see for yourself that it is both easy to understand and of deep impact to your personal and professional life. It is designed to trigger inner reflection and introspective conversations with others so that we can engage with the deeper part of ourselves and make decisions that result in better personal outcomes and a better future for all.

At this time of unprecedented crisis and undeniable unknown, it is more important than ever to challenge the assumptions that we base our decisions upon as we create our individual and collective reality, one decision at a time. The current crisis shines light on the power of nature in our lives in a way that is unescapable. It is calling us to take heed and rethink, adapt, and transform the way we live. It seems clear that the time has come to place nature back at the center of our worldview. This will have to start at an individual level and require us all to recognize that nature is our best teacher and that we need an intimate understanding of it to become fully human. SQUIRCLE is the tool to help you do just that. This book invites you to pause and be open to its lessons. I hope that you enjoy the journey.

introduction

The supreme task of the physicist is to arrive at those universal elementary laws from which the cosmos can be built up by pure deduction. There is no logical path to these laws; only intuition, resting on sympathetic understanding of experience, can reach them.¹

—ALBERT EINSTEIN

No, no. You’re not thinking! You’re just being logical.

—NIELS BOHR, 1927 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS

Have you ever experienced a deep feeling of injustice? Or felt slapped in the face because you were considered incapable of achieving something based on preconceived notions about your age, gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation, or physical limitations? Before you even had a chance to try to prove that you could do it?

Meet Virginie Delalande. When she was nine months old, medical tests revealed that she could hear no noise lower than the roar of a plane taking off. Doctors concluded that she was born deaf. At school, she couldn’t be taught how to speak. She was told that she could not become a veterinary doctor, which was her childhood dream.

Later in life, she was also told that, despite her burning desire to