Monday, November 28, 2016

Here is a re-print from a past column that I think is still very relevant from marketing mastermind Seth Godin simply called "Where Do Ideas Come From?"

Here it is:

Where do ideas come from?

Ideas don't come from watching television.
Ideas sometimes come from listening to a lecture.
Ideas often come while reading a book.
Good ideas come from bad ideas, but only if there are enough of them.
Ideas hate conference rooms, particularly conference rooms where there is a history of criticism, personal attacks or boredom.
Ideas occur when dissimilar universes collide.
Ideas often strive to meet expectations. If people expect them to appear, they do.
Ideas fear experts, but they adore beginner's mind. A little awareness is a good thing.
Ideas come in spurts, until you get frightened. Willie Nelson wrote three of his biggest hits in one week.
Ideas come from trouble.
Ideas come from our ego, and they do their best when they're generous and selfless.
Ideas come from nature.
Sometimes ideas come from fear (usually in movies) but often they come from confidence.
Useful ideas come from being awake, alert enough to actually notice.
Though sometimes ideas sneak in when we're asleep and too numb to be afraid.
Ideas come out of the corner of the eye, or in the shower, when we're not trying.
Mediocre ideas enjoy copying what happens to be working right this minute.
Bigger ideas leapfrog the mediocre ones.
Ideas don't need a passport, and often cross borders (of all kinds) with impunity.

An idea must come from somewhere, because if it merely stays where it is and doesn't join us here, it's hidden. And hidden ideas don't ship, have no influence, no intersection with the market. They die, alone.