Two Ideas a Day

“Have you ever wondered, “when am I going to have a breakthrough idea?” If so, then maybe the better question to ask is “what am I doing to come up with that idea?” Innovative ideas are similar to abdominal 6 packs. Everyone wants them, but few people actually put in the work to get results. Similar to how you should not expect to immediately get a 6 pack from working out one day, you should not expect to have a great innovative idea from just sitting down and “thinking super hard”. To develop muscles in your abdomen, you need to work on it weekly, if not daily. Your habit of working out becomes part of your lifestyle and daily life. Innovative ideas come in much the same manner. ”

I used to think that I needed to set apart time for “think tank sessions” when I could sit down with a pen and paper to brainstorm and write down ideas. But just like everyone else, I couldn't find time for that in my daily schedule. As a result, I resorted to doing my “think tank sessions” when I was on an airplane or when I was going on a run. These “think tank sessions” did yield some results, but they were shallow and without much potential. 

Then I changed my approach and the ideas started to flow. I applied Corbin Church’s (BYU Marriott School of Business) advice to carry a pen and notebook everywhere I went and write down two societal pain points or possible innovative ideas each day (I just use my phone). Now I would be lying if I said that I have been successful at this goal every day. Sometimes I will come up with 5 or 6 ideas in just one day, but other times I will only come up with 2 ideas a week. However, since I have gotten into the mindset of continuously observing the world around me, I have found that I look at situations differently. I have started to question how everyday tasks are accomplished, why we do them the way that we do, and how the process can be improved. 

Earlier, when I had my “think tank sessions”, I was always in the same environment – either on a small airplane seat or running the same old street. My thoughts and ideas were shallow because they weren’t pains that I was actually experiencing. Now that I have a goal to write down two ideas a day, I have been able to recognize pain points in my everyday life. When I’m on an airplane straining to see out the tiny window, I’m not in my everyday environment where I experience the pains I am trying to solve. The only pain that I can think of when I am on an airplane is the lack of legroom and the snack cart that keeps hitting my shoulder as it passes in the isle. However, when I go about my everyday activities with the mindset of trying to innovate something that will make the world better, I find many real pain points worth solving.

Now don’t get me wrong, not every one of these ideas is a “breakthrough idea.” In fact, 90% of them aren’t worthy of anything except a big cross through the middle of them. But if you are coming up with about a dozen ideas a week, then you are bound to have one or two of them that are worth considering. This still doesn’t mean that they are going to be the idea that changes the world, but they will be worth researching and finding out more. Often times this research and inquiry will lead to other discovered pain points and ideas, that actually turn out to be the ones worth pursuing. 

As great as the world is, there are millions of improvements that can be made. Some of them are solvable right now, and some of them are not. As innovators, it is our job to be observant enough to recognize the pain points and creative enough to come up with “breakthrough ideas” to solve them. Just like strengthening our abdominal muscle into 6 packs is a process that requires daily work, developing innovative ideas requires real work. It starts with having a mindset of always looking for ways to improve the world around us. Just look at Corbin Church as an example. Not only does he talk the talk, but he has walked the walk as he has become an extremely successful innovator and businessman, by applying his own advice.

So if you’re wanting to have “that breakthrough idea”, start by writing down two ideas every day and see what happens.