How to Brainstorm an Amazing Idea
The Magical Art of Tapping Into Your Creative Potential
Several years ago, when I was writing Finding Your Fire, I interviewed over 160 people to learn how they came up with ideas for their businesses.
Some, of course, had training in a specific area, but most embraced an “Ah-Ha” moment with a zeal that, they admitted, often surprised even them.
One of the people I talked with was Adam Fetsch, who started his business Rewind Candles in Charleston, South Carolina after observing the number of wine bottles tossed daily from the restaurant where he was working.
He never expected to start a business, but his observations kept pulling him back to wondering how those discarded bottles could be repurposed,so he began taking some of the trashed bottles home and experimenting with them.
His candles are now sold in retail stores across the globe!
Then there is Terry Grahl who owns Enchanted Make-overs.
Terry had to overcome resistance before realizing her calling was the very thing she wanted to avoid! It was difficult for Terry to embrace her creativity because when it came calling it opened up a trough of memories and realizations Terry wasn’t sure she wanted to partake.
But she looked for clues and signs and saw a vision of what could be done to validate her thoughts.
Her story is a must-read if you think you have lost your ability to see your talents and set your creative appointments!
Over the years, I learned several specific behaviors that help to expand your creativity and brainstorm it into successful endeavors.
It’s almost as though people with these attitudes and behaviors have an edge over their competition.
So let’s look at some ways to find your most creative spark.
1. Seek the Curiosity Springboard
People who are generally curious about things tend to investigate them more. Often in that investigation, they discover more about whatever they were researching and also more about themselves.
My friend Sara is very curious about many things. She belonged to an investment club several years ago, and while she doesn’t need to do much investing anymore, she became very curious about EFTs and Cryptocurrency and elected to take some courses to learn more about them.
In the process, she learned more about how people get conned by misinformation, acquired some training, and now teaches courses for several investment firms in her area.
Sara never dreamed she would be making money from investigating an interest.
I was very much the same in terms of not knowing exactly what my passion was, but being very certain that I wanted to earn my living doing work I loved.
I enjoy writing but never had the desire to promote or market my book in the hopes of becoming a well-known writer. I wrote the book to discover how others honed their creativity into production!
Writing a book was painstaking and not enjoyable for me. I’m more of a single blog post-at-a-time kind of girl so I knew my passion was not in hoping to land a publishing contract, however, the very act of writing that book set my life in a different direction.
Others who read the book often approached me about running workshops or speaking about discovering passion, and, since I had run a successful business for decades, they often wanted input about turning a passion into a creative endeavor.
I realized I truly loved showing people how to search for meaningful ways to earn their living rather than simply going to a “job” every day.
That book was a springboard that led to feeding my creative passion beyond my expectations.
You may not even realize that something you enjoy puttering with, tinkering in, or spending time doing can actually be foundational for future potential but if you let natural curiosity become a springboard there is no telling where it will take you!
2. Embrace Focused Distraction
Now that sounds a bit oxymoronic but hear me out. This is not a laser focus on one specific area but an ability to ask yourself what the distraction is trying to “tell” you.
Any mom can tell you they have a natural tendency towards focused distraction by taking care of a household while keeping a naturally curious and busy toddler out of trouble.
Focused distraction gets your attention because it HAS to.
You run immediately to the child trying to pull down a lamp or walk into traffic.
Whatever you were doing is dropped and something else must be done.
Focused distraction can happen anytime you take a moment to address the nagging idea that pulls you back from whatever you are doing and demands your attention.