Whether it’s solving cash flow problems or developing a possibility list, we’ve looked at several areas of your career that might require you to stretch your idea muscle.
I’m not criticizing your creativity. I’m sure you’ve come up with a lot of genius lyrics and guitar hooks in your time. You’re a rock star. That’s why you’re here.
But for some reason, artists like to discard that creative hat when it comes to other things like marketing and money, and I’d like to encourage you to be less hasty in casting aside your innate and developed abilities as an artist. Your creativity can serve you well in every area!
Your creativity can serve you well in every area! Click To TweetAs far as I’m concerned, growing your idea muscle will contribute to you being a better problem-solver, and good entrepreneurs are always skilled problem-solvers.
Here are a few ways to keep exercising that idea muscle of yours:
Increase & Broaden Your Input
People are creatures of habit and are quite likely to return to the same news sources, familiar films and TV shows, YouTube channels, and so on.
Having understood this, we need to be quite intentional about finding input that stimulates, challenges, and encourages growth.
Generally, that means looking outside of where you usually look – reading books in categories you wouldn’t normally read, listening to podcasts that aren’t echo chambers of your daily thoughts, watching videos that make you aware of possibilities you never even knew existed.
One of my favorite activities is reading.
Pick a Topic & Generate 10 New Ideas Per Day
Author and entrepreneur James Altucher is famous for using this method, and it’s been his observation that he’s more successful when he’s in the practice of generating 10 new ideas per day, versus not.
I tried this experiment and kept it going for several months. The result was that ideas became easier to generate.
Take Breaks & Change Your Environment
It’s all well and good to stimulate your mind with fresh input and to challenge yourself to come up with new ideas.
But after all that rigorous exercise, it’s just as critical to take time away from your work – take a shower, go for a walk or a drive, maybe even book a brief getaway.
This gives your mind some time to contextualize and connect the dots. And the ideas that form in your downtime tend to be far more exciting than the ones you force yourself to come up with at your desk or in your bedroom.
Going for a walk or a drive or meditating usually work best for me.
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