Do you want to get more business ideas? Do You Want More Results?
Pay attention. Because, ideas will come to you when you are least expecting it — while driving, or showering, or most often when you are half awake in the middle of the night. Some of those ideas will be good ones. Perhaps it is an idea that can add many new customers to your existing customer base. Perhaps it’s an idea that could up your income by $100,000 per year.
Imagination fuels ideas. So naturally, one key to getting more business ideas is to increase your imagination.
But, an imagination that doesn’t get paid attention to begins to fade away. If ignored, eventually, your imagination may stop producing very many original or creative thoughts. One must learn to manage their imagination to create more success.
My son and I were discussing ideas the other day. He and I both have so many business ideas that we would never be able to implement them all in a lifetime. But we both know people who say they never come up with ideas.
“Never? Really?”
Perhaps, they do and they just don’t pay attention to them. I guess we won’t know for sure.
Perhaps their imagination felt that it wasn’t being paid attention to.
Perhaps, your imagination has felt that it can only safely come out to play during your dreams.
- Do you want your imagination to work for you?
- Do you wish you could generate more ideas?
- Do you want to generate idea after idea?
If so, then your creative imagination needs to know that it the ideas it generates is being taken seriously.
You’ve got to show your imagination that you are paying attention.
Your imagination will generate ideas that will reveal themselves to you when you are least expecting it — while shaving, or bathing, or most often when you are half awake in the morning. It may waken you in the middle of the night.
I believe your mind is more open to creative imagination and apt to give you those million dollar ideas if it knows that you will take them seriously. One sure fire way to stimulate your imagination is to keep an idea journal.
Your idea journal really doesn’t have to be fancy, in fact, it could be as simple as a spiral-bound notebook. However, writing down my ideas in a beautiful black leather bound journal seems to communicate to my subconscious mind that “your ideas are important enough to me to not go in any old notebook. They are going right here in my book that will last for centuries.” It just seems powerful.
The ideas I capture in my idea journal almost immediately seem like they are more of a reality. So be sure to transfer any of those ideas contained on floating pieces of paper, or a napkin to your permanent journal.
How to Use Your Idea Journal
- Use your idea journal in a way that works for you. Some people start at page one filling up one page after another. Personally, for me, that was too frustrating. I couldn’t find the idea when I wanted to refer to it later. So I numbered my pages and divided it into sections. Ideas related to business ideas go in one, ideas related to my family go in another, etc.
- Ask yourself questions. Place a question at the top of a page. Then let your imagination work on a solution. When ideas come I write them down on the page. This method never fails to stimulate my problem-solving abilities.
- Carry your idea journal with you everywhere. Sometimes it may just be unrealistic to have it with you. So if you are stuck somewhere without it, your job it to first commit all your ideas to any paper that you have handy. Carrying 3 x 5″ cards with you is often the perfect substitute or make a note on your phone. Once you get back home make sure those ideas make it to your journal.
- Don’t judge the ideas. Write down the ideas as they come to you. They may not appear like a great idea now, but that idea, when combined with something else, may make it a winning idea.
- Don’t use a pen that bleeds, or fades.
- Write your name, address, and phone number on the front cover and you may want to offer a reward for its return if it is lost.
What To Keep in Your Idea Journal
Keep track of those things that capture your imagination – those things that give you inspiration, and those things that you notice. Basically, any idea, that you get can be written down in your idea journal. Some of them will be huge, and some of them almost insignificant. Or course, it isn’t limited to business.
For example:
- Business ideas.
- Product ideas.
- Sketches.
- Ideas for blog posts.
- Ideas of books.
- Ideas on how to more effectively communicate with someone.
- Record the things you’re grateful for.
- Titles for books.
- Sketches, or storyboards.
- Character ideas.
- Ideas on how to improve your home.
- Plants you want to plant in your yard.
You never know what you will learn until you start paying attention. You may soon discover ideas you never knew you were capable of producing.
Go ahead and pick out something fun to journal in. Something like this Green Leather Journal would be fun. Something about this colorful tree journal begs to be written in.
How are you going to capture your next big idea?
Please share them below:
- Do you use an idea journal?
- What have you found works well for you?
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