Most of us are able to come up with ideas. Spur of the moment ideas that could change the course of your life and of those around you. The more challenging thing is to develop the habits to consistently come up with great ideas. The key to that is to become committed and focused.
Here are some of the things you need to do in order to become a big idea generator for a successful life.
Surround Yourself with Inspiration
The phrase goes “you are what you eat” and that’s right in that many of our ideas are generated by the things we watch or listen to or the people we spend time with. We are truly are products of our surroundings. The more you surround yourself with, the more you will have to connect and the better your ideas become.
However, if you eat junk, then you become junk. Don’t expect to get the best ideas by binge-watching reality TV shows, diversity what you surround yourself with- read more, listen to more podcasts, listen to a wider variety of music and expect the creativity to flow, and start connecting the dots together.
Switch Up Your Routine
There is no problem with having routines- in fact, they help us to build habits. However, when it comes to coming up with new ideas, you want to be able to mix it up a little.
If you want to be open to ideas coming to you at any time rather than when you’re sitting down begging for ideas to come to you- you can train your brain to allow ideas to come to you anytime anywhere. You can’t be creative without moving. Go for a walk, take a shower, go for a drive or do some chores- tasks that don’t require too much brainpower, and expect ideas to come to you.
Different ideas come from different environments, so let yourself go and do more and see more to come up with your biggest ideas.
Start Small
Think about the things you see and meet in the tiniest sense every day. Even the big ideas start small. You could be searching online and find an industrial equipment supplier like C&B Equipment while working on a project and become inspired by some of the ideas shared on their website. Anything can stem from somewhere seemingly completely random before becoming something much bigger.
Find a Need and Try to Fill It
Ideas that become successful often do so because they’re something missing. Think of the most successful ‘Shark Tank’ presentations. Most of them were the perfect balance of niche, genius, and things that people will find useful. Remember, it doesn’t just have to be a product- creativity fills a need, too. People need to be entertained, heard, and understood, too. Would this be something you’d find useful? Great- then it’s highly likely that someone else will, too.
Ask Questions
Questions are a powerful tool- and ideas people may not ask enough of them. When you have a conversation with someone, coming up with questions and hearing answers can help to spark ideas. This will give you more information that you can work with and look for different avenues to explore rather than simply taking things at a face value. The more questions you ask, the more likely you will be able to come up with an idea that answers the question.
Share Your Ideas With Others
Of course, speaking to others will require some trust-unless you want your ideas stolen. However, sometimes the only way to see if an idea you have is worth pursuing is to speak to other people about your ideas. Sometimes the simple act of speaking them aloud can be a sounding board to yourself and you can hear whether you think an idea is good or needs more work to be a success. Workshopping ideas with others can help you to come up with some of the best ideas.
Don’t Be Afraid Of Getting Things Wrong
It’s a fact of life that most people don’t get things right the first time. In fact, getting things wrong gives us a unique opportunity to learn from our mistakes with the wisdom from where we started last time. Successful people with successful ideas are extremely unlikely to have found their success on their first go. It will have taken blood, sweat, tears, and plenty of rejection that would have led them back to the drawing board to improve their ideas.
