How to generate outstanding ideas. What’s the secret creative geniuses share to come up with their remarkable ideas? Even though idea generation may look like a somewhat mysterious and random process, there is a practical, simple lesson we can all apply to increase our chances of having great ideas. Connections, Connections, Connections Everybody wants to have great ideas, but have you ever wondered what an idea is? If you haven’t, take a few moments to think about it. The answer is probably simpler than you initially thought: ideas are connections. Any idea, no matter how trivial, is an association between previous, established ideas. Another interesting characteristic of these connections is that you can’t predict anything about them beforehand. Creativity and Productivity Because of the randomness in idea generation, having great ideas is not a task that can be approached directly.
The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas. Being prolific, then, is the key to have great ideas. How to Have Tons of Ideas 1. 2. How to tackle any issue with a list of 100. The List of 100 is a powerful technique you can use to generate ideas, clarify your thoughts, uncover hidden problems or get solutions to any specific questions you’re interested in. The technique is very simple in principle: state your issue or question in the top of a blank sheet of paper and come up with a list of one hundred answers or solutions about it. “100 Ways to Generate Income”, “100 Ways to be More Creative” or “100 Ways to Improve my Relationships” are some examples. “One hundred entries? Isn’t that way too many?” Bear with me: it’s exactly this exaggeration that makes the technique powerful. When starting your list you may believe that there’s no way to get it done. Unlike the related Idea Quota tool — whose primary goal is to acquire the habit of coming up with ideas — the goal of a List of 100 is to take your mind by surprise.
Ground Rules There are only two simple principles to keep in mind when making Lists of 100: 1. 2. The Dynamics of Making Lists of 100 1. 2. 3. How to find your passion. If you could do one thing to transform your life, I would highly recommend it be to find something you’re passionate about, and do it for a living.
Now, this isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it’s well worth the effort. If you dread going to your job, or find yourself constantly lacking motivation, or find what you’re doing dull and repetitive, you need to start looking for a new job. Staying in your current job will not only continue to make you unhappy, but you are not realizing your full potential in life. Imagine this instead: you get up early, jumping out of bed, excited to go to work. You might put in more hours than the average person, but it doesn’t seem difficult to you, because your work hours just zoom right by.
You are often in that state of mind often referred to as “flow,” where you can lose track of the world and time, losing yourself in the task at hand. If you’ve got a job you dislike, or even hate, this will sound like a pipe dream to you. Do you recognize these 10 mental blocks to creative thinking ? Steve Jobs at Standfort University (2005) Video of the Commencement address. I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world.
I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. The first story is about connecting the dots. I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. It started before I was born.
And 17 years later I did go to college. It wasn't all romantic. Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. I really didn't know what to do for a few months.
“Made to stick” de Chip and Dan Heath | Recension de Dustin Wax. Imagine: a teacher stands in front of a classroom filled with bored, listless students. As he repeatedly fills the board and erases it, fills the board and erases it, he drones out a list of names and dates, formulae and proofs, theories and evidence. His students drop one by one into a dazed stupor, drool puddling beneath their vacant faces, necks craning to catch quick glimpses of the clock, thumbs twiddling against phonepads beneath their desks.
Neither teacher nor students are inspired; six months later, neither will remember what was said or done that day or, indeed, any day. Now imagine: A period later, a different teacher stands in front of a different group of students teaching her section of the same class. As she goes over the same material from the same book, her students buzz with excitement, falling over themselves to answer every question she poses to the class, their gazes riveted tightly to hers as she spins out ever-more-fascinating details. What are Sticky Ideas? How to come up with great ideas. “Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.” - Napoleon Hill This guest post is by Leo from Zen Habits.
If you like this post, I recommend you check out his site or subscribe to his feed. One problem that many bloggers face is the daily challenge of coming up with a good, useful post. After blogging for awhile, new ideas may be hard to come by. But great ideas are everywhere, if you know where to look, keep your eyes open, and know how to make use of them once you find them. Always be on the lookout for great new ideas, and they will come to you. The following are 20 ways to come up with great ideas, not just for bloggers, but for anyone: 1. Have a little notebook that you carry around with you wherever you go, including to bed. 2.
I read a lot of books, and hundreds of RSS feeds a day, and skim magazines when I can. 3. Anyone. 4. Any time you’re doing something mindless, use that time to think about a certain topic. 5. Running, for example, is a great way to come up with ideas. 6. 7. How to become a creative genius. When we measure the creativity of young children, virtually all of them will record as being ‘highly creative’. However, only a small percentage of adults register as being ‘highly creative’. What happened? Schools have crushed creativity. We were told to color within the lines. The job of education is to produce employees who follow instructions. This is one of the most unfortunate realities in our current education system. To undo this, we must continuallyexercise our creative juices. 1. Ideas are like in-laws, you never know when they’re coming over to visit. Leonardo da Vinci was well known for keeping a journal of his ideas.
His notebooks were filled with plans for flying machines, a parachute, a helicopter, the extendable ladder, the bicycle,folding furniture, and a number of automated tools for increasing productivity. Yes, I am happy to say that Leonardo da Vinci was a productivity junkie. A blank page is an open invitation for the creative and curious mind. 2. “What is wisdom?” 3. How to boost your creativity.