MELT THEM DOWN:
Chapter Two
Zap Out of the Blue
"I was taking a shower when the idea came to me!"
"I was just waking up when the idea came to me!"
"I was jogging when the idea came to me!"
"I was drinking my 9th cup of coffee when the idea
came to me!"
Have any of these happened to you?
Having you been walking, jogging, showering, dreaming,
driving when "Zap! Out of the Blue" came an idea, a solution,
a hint of an idea?
Most of us have these things happen to us. Some of us pay
attention to them and some of us turn them into solutions
that often lead to great success and possibly fame. Yet the
greatest percentage of us say
"ho hum another strange idea" and let them go.
There are many theories about why these happen...
a. our muse(es) give them to us
b. God gives them to us
c. our sub-conscious gives them to us after we have
consciously worked very hard on a problem and finally have
let it go.
Are you taking advantage of your "Zaps From Out of the Blue"?
Do you write them down immediately? Do you put them into
action immediately or reprioritize and set them into your
plans for that day or soon?
If you aren't, why aren't you?
If you are how are you capturing them?
Do you write them down on anything that is handy: a piece of
paper, an index card, a Post-It note, the shower stall glass,
the mirror? Do you then plan for when you will do something
about them?
These are your sub-conscious creative mind helping you.
Let it help you while you work with it.
First for the next 7 to 14 days take 15 minutes each day to
think about what are your "Zaps!" Write them down. Examine
them to see if their is a pattern, a specific time, any
specific conditions. Are you always relaxed? Are you
working on other things unrelated to the problem the ideas
come for at the time? Are you practicing any ritual or
habit...yoga, walking, exercising, drinking coffee, sipping
on a glass of wine?
The answers to these questions very well may give you clues
for how to deliberately cause more "Zaps!" to happen for and
to you.
Second, develop a system(s) or method(s) for recording the
"Zap!" ideas when they happen. Make sure you have the
necessary tools and resources to collect the ideas.
Third, take a few moments when they happened to jot down
one to 3 to 5 steps of how you will take the idea(s) further
towards solutions. Perhaps you might take a moment to
think about the resources you will need. Or you might
take a moment or two to visualize or imagine yourself
doing the idea and look for the resources you will need
including the people.
Fourth, DO IT!!!
An example of using this plan happened the morning I wrote
this article. I was practicing one of my morning
rituals/habits reviewing over-night email messages,
downloading overflow from my server's computer to mine while
I am reading from a book on creativity. This morning I was
reading Paul Plsek's new Creativity, Innovation and Quality
published by ASQ while my computer was downloading files.
One phrase "Zap!"-ed from the page "Zap from the Blue" at me.
I had just been reading a message from the editor of CIA,
Andy van Gundy, who was asking about an article for the
February issue. The "Zap!" jumped right at me. Here was the
idea that sparked this short article. I wrote down a Post-It
note to use later. Took a couple moments to think
when I would use it and when I would write the article. I
chose to push things aside because I was leaving to go out of
town for a few days to work with a client and probably
wouldn't be able to get to it for a few days. I immediately
started writing down my thoughts into an email message to
Andy. I got it about 3/4's done when I hit a bad combination
of keys and disconnected myself from my internet
server...............and lost everything I had written.
I then quickly made a couple notes about what I had already
written and decided I would do it later after I got a few
things that had to be done during the next two hours and
could not be done at any other time.
In other words, writing this article was an example of
practicing what I am "preaching". Learn how you get your
"Zaps!". Capture them. Then use them.
The result? You'll be using much more of your creativeness
Chapter Two
Zap Out of the Blue
"I was taking a shower when the idea came to me!"
"I was just waking up when the idea came to me!"
"I was jogging when the idea came to me!"
"I was drinking my 9th cup of coffee when the idea
came to me!"
Have any of these happened to you?
Having you been walking, jogging, showering, dreaming,
driving when "Zap! Out of the Blue" came an idea, a solution,
a hint of an idea?
Most of us have these things happen to us. Some of us pay
attention to them and some of us turn them into solutions
that often lead to great success and possibly fame. Yet the
greatest percentage of us say
"ho hum another strange idea" and let them go.
There are many theories about why these happen...
a. our muse(es) give them to us
b. God gives them to us
c. our sub-conscious gives them to us after we have
consciously worked very hard on a problem and finally have
let it go.
Are you taking advantage of your "Zaps From Out of the Blue"?
Do you write them down immediately? Do you put them into
action immediately or reprioritize and set them into your
plans for that day or soon?
If you aren't, why aren't you?
If you are how are you capturing them?
Do you write them down on anything that is handy: a piece of
paper, an index card, a Post-It note, the shower stall glass,
the mirror? Do you then plan for when you will do something
about them?
These are your sub-conscious creative mind helping you.
Let it help you while you work with it.
First for the next 7 to 14 days take 15 minutes each day to
think about what are your "Zaps!" Write them down. Examine
them to see if their is a pattern, a specific time, any
specific conditions. Are you always relaxed? Are you
working on other things unrelated to the problem the ideas
come for at the time? Are you practicing any ritual or
habit...yoga, walking, exercising, drinking coffee, sipping
on a glass of wine?
The answers to these questions very well may give you clues
for how to deliberately cause more "Zaps!" to happen for and
to you.
Second, develop a system(s) or method(s) for recording the
"Zap!" ideas when they happen. Make sure you have the
necessary tools and resources to collect the ideas.
Third, take a few moments when they happened to jot down
one to 3 to 5 steps of how you will take the idea(s) further
towards solutions. Perhaps you might take a moment to
think about the resources you will need. Or you might
take a moment or two to visualize or imagine yourself
doing the idea and look for the resources you will need
including the people.
Fourth, DO IT!!!
An example of using this plan happened the morning I wrote
this article. I was practicing one of my morning
rituals/habits reviewing over-night email messages,
downloading overflow from my server's computer to mine while
I am reading from a book on creativity. This morning I was
reading Paul Plsek's new Creativity, Innovation and Quality
published by ASQ while my computer was downloading files.
One phrase "Zap!"-ed from the page "Zap from the Blue" at me.
I had just been reading a message from the editor of CIA,
Andy van Gundy, who was asking about an article for the
February issue. The "Zap!" jumped right at me. Here was the
idea that sparked this short article. I wrote down a Post-It
note to use later. Took a couple moments to think
when I would use it and when I would write the article. I
chose to push things aside because I was leaving to go out of
town for a few days to work with a client and probably
wouldn't be able to get to it for a few days. I immediately
started writing down my thoughts into an email message to
Andy. I got it about 3/4's done when I hit a bad combination
of keys and disconnected myself from my internet
server...............and lost everything I had written.
I then quickly made a couple notes about what I had already
written and decided I would do it later after I got a few
things that had to be done during the next two hours and
could not be done at any other time.
In other words, writing this article was an example of
practicing what I am "preaching". Learn how you get your
"Zaps!". Capture them. Then use them.
The result? You'll be using much more of your creativeness
and working much less. Best wishes for a creative month.
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