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Millions and millions of America's immigrants have been able to come to this land because of one man's ambition. Their lives have been forever changed because of this man's crazy, as some thought, idea to explore undiscovered land. America's history is based on the power of ideas. That is meant literally. That idea to explore unknown lands led to millions of people now having a place in which they can call home. Ideas are valued by creative thinkers. Columbus, in the history books, is a great explorer. But in a way, he was also a great entrepreneur and a truly creative man. He also perfectly embodies the risk-reward dynamic of creative thinking. Just think of all that he was risking when he announced his plan and embarked on the journey to the new, free world. To see the rewards, just look around you. That's exactly what he was able to capture. Columbus encompasses what the American dream is made of - taking one idea, fostering it to create his own opportunity and discover a land full of future opportunities. Think about what his one idea has done for millions of people. He courageously opened the doors of opportunity to himself, his family, his country and the rest of the world. If you ever find yourself wondering just how much you could possibly expect to gain from harnessing your creative abilities, remember that example of Columbus. All ideas are valuable. The flashy, obvious, crazy, very profitable ideas, are not the only ideas I am talking about. Creative thinkers know how valuable all ideas really are. Creativity is a game of odds. Write that down. Go big or go home when generating ideas. What I mean by this is you have to come up with as many ideas as humanly possible when you are looking for new ideas. This is one of the rules of creativity. In the beginning of my career, I used to go help high school leadership groups across North America. I would help them come up with ideas for various different things - fundraising, generating more school spirit. I would work with them for generally between an hour and an hour and a half, and our goal was to come up with a top 10 list of wow ideas, for whatever challenge we were working on. Quality comes from quantity. Make sure you write that down. During the sessions with the high school students our objective was to come up with as many ideas as possible, following the rule of go big or go home. We always kept in our minds that quality comes from quantity. The most amazing, fabulous, million-dollar idea won't come to you right off the bat. But, if you are generating as many ideas as possible, then out of quantity will come quality. When you follow the rules of go big or go home, not all the ideas you think of will be good. Within the hour and a half span that I was working with the student leadership groups we would come up with between 3,000 and 4,000 ideas. Obviously, not all of these ideas were good. Actually, 99% of the ideas were absolute garbage. But the point is that out of that came 1% that were pure gold. We would never have gotten to that 1% had we not tried to go for as many ideas as humanly possible because creativity, like I said earlier, is a game of odds. You put the odds in your favor, the more ideas you generate. Working together in a group to come up with ideas is extremely powerful for the sole reason that multiple heads are better than one. People will work off each other's ideas, make connections and spark new ideas in other people. If I share an idea, it may trigger something in another person, which sparks three more ideas from another. By the end of it you have sparks flying and ideas popping out of everywhere. I want you to picture a long line of Dominos going straight out in front of you. Wherever you are right now, it's going straight out in front of you, then it turns to the right, and then it curves back around, almost in a circle. But before it comes back it curves again the other way. It actually goes up a couple stairs. That whole line of Dominos, that whole reaction of Dominos can never happen unless the first Domino goes down. That first Domino, in the creative thinking process is something known as stimuli. Working within a group of other creative thinkers when you fire out an idea it will work as stimuli for others. Stimuli can be anything around you, anything you can taste, feel, touch, listen to. Once you use each other's stimuli, the Dominos will start to fall and what I like to call an idea reaction, will occur. As an idea reaction occurs, you are increasing the odds of generating an idea that will be profitable for your business. The more ideas you generate, the better your odds are of success. In the creative process, every idea counts. Not every idea you come up with will be possible, or succeed. But, the more ideas you generate, you are increasing your odds at being successful. Think about it. All it takes is one flash of insight, one new product, one innovative service, to create a million-dollar business. With one idea - a scientist or a researcher - the have the potential to cure a previously incurable disease. A software engineer could have a flash of brillance and come up with an idea that will change the way in which people use computers. That's the power of an idea. Being a creative thinker, you should embrace all of your ideas, never underestimate the power of the simplest one. Always remember the power of ideas. Sometimes it's that seemingly simple idea that others completely dismiss as silly that will ignite a whole idea reaction in your brain. That seemingly silly idea, it's like a seed with the potential to blossom. It's growth depends on the skill and integrity of the person who plants it and cares for it. Ignoring that seed will just absolutely kill it. All ideas must be valued. You never know what might blossom from the seeds you have planted.
Article Source: http://www.articlesfeed.com
Stu McLaren has found out how everyday people all over the world are turning "Unusual" Business Ideas into magnificent moneymakers... and How You Can Too! These ideas are guaranteed to motivate you and inspire you to get your own money-making Business Idea Off The Ground... Immediately!
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