How would you like to have access to inspiration, ideas and answers whenever you need them? That’s what this brief post is all about.
I found the above note in an old Apple Notes file. I think it was part of some research I did, for a blog post I never published. Anyhow, discovering that note this morning reminded me why I take (and keep) lots of notes and how extremely valuable they are.
I thought you might find it useful, so I’ve decided to quickly share it with you.
Now, as you can see, that note by itself is just a snippet of an idea.
But that note isn’t by itself. It’s part of a massive body of ideas I’ve jotted down over the past 20 years. They’re mostly pen and paper notes, though I also have thousands of digital notes, like the above example.
It’s this stack of ideas and observations, in note form, that’s extremely valuable for anyone involved in problem solving; which is every person reading this.
Inspiration and answers on demand
As a marketing professional, I can’t ‘wait’ for inspiration to arrive. When work starts, I need to command inspiration to appear. If I’m more than one coffee into my day and I’m struggling to get into the flow, that’s where the notes come in.
I grab a notebook or search my digital notes and usually within 5 minutes, my brain is in a highly creative state.
An old note with a nugget or two of information, soon points my thinking in a massively more productive direction. That new direction helps me focus on new ideas and new solutions, which I couldn’t possibly have accessed otherwise. I use these to help my clients build great businesses, develop new products or services and spot windfall profits they never even knew existed.
More importantly, just think how valuable that kind of asset would be for you and your business. Imagine you were able to know in advance, with confidence, that you could tap into a powerful source of inspired ideas and answers.
Start by collecting ideas. The sooner you start, the sooner your stack of ideas will grow. And don’t just collect your own ideas, but ideas from others (like this one). And definitely spend more time on ideas from outside your industry. Grab ideas from books, movies, artists you love. Don’t limit yourself. Collect your ideas in a format that’s easiest for you.
And most importantly, make it a daily habit.