Where do Ideas Come From?

A couple of years ago I heard the question:

Do people have ideas?

or

Do ideas have people?

This was an interesting question because around the same time, I heard Jeff Bezos say:

You don’t choose your passions, your passions choose you.

It seemed like the initial question & Jeff Bezos’s quote had a strange similarity.

It got me wondering more about the world of ideas.

When you think about it, our world is run on ideas.

From buying a book…

To stopping at a stoplight.

Why do we stop at the stoplight?

What is it about that RED light, that indicates to us that we should stop putting our car in motion?

Well, it’s an idea that we adopted.

To answer the initial question, I believe people have ideas & ideas have people.

I know that’s a cop-out answer lol.

However, I truly do believe there is a blend of the 2 worlds.

What Exactly is an Idea?

To get started, let’s ask the basic question.

What is an idea?

If you were to ask me, I’d say:

An idea is a structured thought with energy.

There are layers to this definition, so let’s break it down.

Thought is the flash of images in our minds.

It’s been estimated that the average human thinks around 30,000 thoughts plus a day!

The thoughts that we notice are the ones that have an emotional charge to it.

The emotional charge equals energy.

The energy of the thought brings awareness to this image.

Now a bunch of images with charges are useless.

Therefore, it needs to be STRUCTURED.

Structured means, giving that thought + energy, meaning.

How do we give it meaning?

In different ways.

Maybe the meaning comes down to helping add value to a business.

Or the meaning can serve as a stoplight which indicates to a driver, STOP.

The meaning of an idea varies on a case by case basis.

So that’s my definition of an idea.

Thought + Emotional Charge + Structure

Where Do We Get our Ideas?

When was the last time you had a good idea that served practical value to yourself or others?

It doesn’t need to be grand or anything.

It can be a side hustle you started.

Or it can be something like creating a new routine.

Find a moment like that from your life.

Where did that idea come from?

When you look closely, you’ll notice that it was an iterative process.

Meaning, there were prior leadups that LED to that idea.

And you kept refining.

Very rarely do we have a brand new idea that stands alone from all other thoughts in our minds.

Sorry, but that random lightbulb moment is not fully accurate.

‘Why do you say fully?’

I say “fully” because there is SOME accuracy, nevertheless.

Ideas are formed from connections that lead to the lightbulb moment.

So you’re not going to get great ideas by just sitting on your butt watching TV all day.

Rather, you need to fill your database with experiences & information + Move with direction.

That’s when the connections are put into motion.

Filling up our Database

There are 2 common ways to fill up our database with content.

1. Experiences.

2. Information.

Experience happens first hand.

Information can happen from advice, lectures and/or reading books, etc.

Information requires another source.

Anyone who has GREAT ideas has both components in their arsenal.

They are gaining experience in their life for a field they chose.

They may travel a lot to build experience nationally and/or overseas.

And they may be trying different assortments of food.

All these are a VARIETY of experiences that they are filling up in their database.

Also, great thinkers deliberately read too.

Reading allows them to add more content to their database.

People with great ideas are capable of reading/consuming anything.

It can range from philosophy, finance, habit building topics, etc.

Depending on the DEPTH of the information, the person reading it will view it from the lens of their personal experience.

Making the information more significant.

The combination of experiences & information leads a human to fill their database which can lead to connections.

Assigning the Mind a Purpose

To just have a bunch of random experiences & information is like aimlessly going on Google.

Google has all the blogs, information & content in the world.

But the question is…

So what?

Google doesn’t have any MEANING for us until we have a question to ask it.

If we aren’t looking up anything specific or general, then all the information in Google is random.

However, when we HAVE something to search for, that’s when Google becomes a force to be reckoned with.

Likewise, in terms of our personal database, it mainly holds purpose when we are moving in a direction.

All the experience & information means diddly squat if we aren’t trying to solve anything.

‘How big of a problem should we be trying to solve?’

In the world of ideas, that’s not a good question…at first.

If you are someone who does not have good ideas…

You just want to have ideas that add practical value.

‘Add practical value to who?’

Start off with you.

A problem you can be trying to solve is something that’s personally holding you back.

‘How can I get that 6 pack without losing so much of my muscle?’

This allows you to move in some direction.

Now, the experiences & information in your memory bank start to be set in motion.

You’ll start to get micro ideas.

And if you keep pushing more, you’ll get curious about new potential experiences and information.

A constant process of building a database + moving forward leads to more connections.

And connections lead to more ideas.

Working your Way Up to Thinking Bigger

The mind is like a muscle.

It gets stronger the more that we work it out.

Once we build confidence in terms of solving our own problems, that’s when we can expand into helping others solve their problems.

That’s when we get BIGGER ideas.

Also, that’s when we begin to realize that the more that we learn, the more that we learn.

This is how you unlock an abundance mindset regarding ideas.

People who think ideas are running out are most likely the people who stopped growing.

Do you ever think there will be a day when Gooogle stops getting searched?

‘Haha hell no.’

Exactly. Same with our mind.

As long as we are moving forward in a direction, the more we will be:

-Accumulating experiences + information

-Connecting experiences + information

-Finetuning

And building more ideas.

Building our Idea Muscle

So at the beginning of this blog, I asked:

Do people have ideas or do ideas have people?

And I believe it’s the best of both worlds in terms of concepts.

The more ideas you have, the more the ideas consume & grow alive in you.

That’s when an abundance mentality is unlocked.

Listen, you are going to have thoughts & energy no matter what you do.

Why not structure it?

A blog, Twitter, Youtube, etc is a great way to practice the art of thinking.

Because that’s all communication is.

Thinking out loud.

Great ideas are not a dime a doze.

Great ideas are 1 in a million.

Ideas can only be refined thru execution.

Therefore, ideas & execution are not mutually exclusive.

The 2 are joined at the hip.

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– ArmaniTalks