Ideas change the world. Ideas are dangerous. Ideas have power. Well, actually, none of the above. An idea is just that: an idea. That is until someone acts on it. Then it can be dangerous, have power and change the world.
But first you have to have the idea. I’ve learned that creativity is a funny thing. It can’t really be harnessed, at least not neatly, in bankers’ hours.
So what to do when creativity strikes? I’ve heard of authors who would keep a notepad and pen by the bedside, so if they woke up in the middle of the night, they could quickly scribble down the idea before it was gone in the light of morning. Excellent idea. The 2009 version can be as close as your cell phone. Yes, I still find myself scribbling and doodling on all kinds of pieces of paper, but I am also making use of technology to capture ideas. The other day I sat in a parking lot, waiting for my wife to get off work. With time for reflection, I got some ideas. I grabbed my iPhone and made several voice memo recordings of those thoughts, capturing the wording going through my head that very moment.
Now comes the next phase: Turning those ideas into something. Having the recordings is great, going back and turning them into actions is even better. In that 30 minutes of waiting in a car, I came up with ideas that could keep me busy for months if they all were to pan out. They may not, but I captured them and can now explore them in more detail.
Claes
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