Aah, the search for the One Great Idea. Seems somewhat elusive most of the time yeah? Or maybe you have a million but you find it hard to choose?
Hey you might even think that you just need the one to come along and hit you in the back of the skull. The quintessential LIGHTBULB moment.
And I’m not saying it can’t happen. I’m betting you’ve had dozens of amazing ideas before (I’m also betting you’ve had plenty of cringeworthy ones too – after all, we all have, drunken ones not withstanding).
So I have a question. How many Ideas do you think it takes to find a great one?
As many as it takes?
The more you come up with the more likely it is that you will come across one that is memorable, don’t you think?
“To get a great idea, come up with lots of them.” – Thomas Edison.
After all, it’s a numbers game. So I’m asking, will you sit down as soon as you can and create a list of 100 Ideas in 30 minutes?
Will you play to win?
You may be thinking, ‘Are you kidding me?’ 100 ideas? 30 minutes? You may be thinking this is too much or maybe you’re just letting your judgement inhibit the process.
Here’s the deal. When you only have a small amount of time to get something done you have to let go of everything else. And sometimes, when you’re in somewhat of a panic state, amazing things occur.
Alright, want to try, dare to?
Here’s how it works. Write down a topic, something you may need a solution or answer for (eg. 100 ways to Be More Creative or 100 Ideas for my next project). Then, in 30 minutes, write down as many ideas as possible.
Let it fly.
Now don’t get caught up in if they’re good or not. If you can’t quite finish a sentence then just move on, keep that hand going and don’t read back over. It doesn’t matter if you end up repeating an idea later on down the list. Just get it all out.
After all it’s not a – you only get one shot of this.
Phew! How’d you go?
Let’s not stop there. Here are a few more things you can try, same principles apply.
100 Blog Posts
Got a blog? (ps. if you don’t you probably should), and if so, do you ever get stuck for ideas?
What if you sat down and brainstormed 100 of them? What if you could knock out that many ideas in one sitting? It doesn’t mean you have to use them. Doesn’t even have to be great. But say you’re posting once a week, that’s nearly two years worth.
In any case why not just let yourself explore the possibility. Go for it. Maybe even better if you don’t currently have one, you can see how quickly you could.
If all else fails you have a list of possibilities.
100 Email Headlines
Got an email you want to send. How about writing 100 email headlines.
Sure some are going to be crap, but if you don’t sieve through the mud you’ll never find the gold, that elusive needle in the haystack. If you don’t try you won’t ever get there.
100 Drawings
I’m not talking masterpieces here, just quick little images to open your mind, because you should explore the visual as well – it’s good for your creativity and your imagination.
So how daring are you?
Let’s step it up a bit. Super fast timed, maybe 10 – 30 seconds per picture. Little cats and dogs, a sun a tree, whatever comes to mind. Every day we see thousands and thousands of things don’t tell me you don’t know what to draw.
Or that you can’t.
Divide your paper/s and create a grid, and don’t let yourself leave any of those boxes free. This is NOT life or death.
Did you go through them all?
How do you feel? Like a stiff drink.
*Ok Bonus round.
The 100 Drinking Game
That is – 100 shots (beer or champagne or wine) in a hundred minutes.
Two shots if you miss a round.
And if you’re game…start back over from the beginning.
*Not a really bonus round and consider this a disclaimer against any sort of irresponsible drinking behaviour.