Ways to get ideas

http://changethis.com/ - "14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas"

I know that often I struggle to come up with new and creative ideas. So, Mitch Ditkoff has released an article titled “14 Ways to get Breakthrough Ideas”. In this article he provides 14 different ways and techniques to get break through ideas. Although some of the ways might be obvious this is a really good article to get you coming up with new ideas.

14. SUSPEND LOGIC

Mitch's last suggestion is to suspend logic. I completely agree with this suggestion but I disagree with where he placed it. I think this should be one of the first 3 suggestions. In today's world we are often taught to think rationally and realistically which in some situations is good but in others it is only limiting yourself. If we are constantly limiting ourselves to what is rational or logical we would never invent or do something new and creative. 100 years ago we would have never thought that we could have portable computers, or iPods. So maybe today's crazy idea could be tomorrow's new invention. I could easily implement this suggestion into my own creative life. Next time I am working on a piece of art I can suspend what is practical and just paint what come to mind regardless of how realistic it is or looks.

10. HANG OUT WITH DIVERSE GROUPS OF PEOPLE

 This is another great idea from Mitch. I think this applies with just about any creative thing there is but I notice it most with music. Some of the best music is made when two groups or artist collaborate. Also, when you hang out with other people you get to see the world in a different way, you get to see how people think of the world differently, and you get to see how people react to different situations. This helps you become a more well-rounded and see the world in a different light.

 Make a list of ten people (or groups of people) outside of your traditional “posse” who you can spend some time with this month. Who’s first? When?

1. My Brother
2. Co-Workers
3. Will
4. Max
5. Joe
6. Cameron
7. Myles
8. Malcom
9. Robin
10. Bob

The first person I would spend time with is my brother. The main reason is due to a complicated family situation, and the other reason is because we are very different. To me some of the things he does are strange and we both have very different drives. It is always interesting to find out what makes some one tick and my brother is one of those people whom I feel like I have never really gotten to know. A good time for us to spend time together would be over spring break.

2. IMMERSE

I feel a lot of times that when dealing with technology the people who designed it have not really immersed themselves with the product or previous products. At home I have this TV that is mounted on the wall. It is a really nice TV and costs a lot of money. The only problem with the TV is when its mounted on the wall it is physically impossible to reach behind it and plug in cables. So whenever I want to plug in my DVD player or Xbox, I have to take it off the wall and plug them in that way. I feel as if whoever designed this TV was not really immersed in the design process. I feel like their boss told them that they had to include a certain amount of features on the TV and that is what the person did. The person who designed it had no intention of using it or had ever mounted a TV on a wall. So this had led me to say that immersion is a good suggestion when trying to develop breakthrough ideas.