Comments on: Firing Up Your Mental Crock-Pot

By: Sally Giedrys

Sally Giedrys — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 20:56:29 +0000

I find that brainstorming at night can often lead to good ideas in the morning. Sometimes they come first thing, and sometimes while exercising or getting ready for the day. Usually, for me, I am doing something physically oriented when the ideas arrive.

Routine travel is another place they like to show up (in the car, on buses or trains, walking to the coffee shop where I sometimes work). But I am going to have to try this hot tub idea. An idea factory is always welcome!

By: Ed Gandia, Editor

Ed Gandia, Editor — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:14:12 +0000

@Eileen – I hear you about kids! My 6 year-old still has no idea what I do for a living. The teacher asked him last year (for a project they were doing) and he responded, “He sits on his desk, types on the computer and prints stuff.” I guess many of us don’t fit the standard “doctor, lawyer, policeman, fireman” molds.

@Susan – Great point! There’s no substitute for action! I’ve found the same thing when I work on something. The first iteration is never the best. But without it, the really good stuff will never surface!

Thanks for your comments!

By: Susan Greene

Susan Greene — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:43:51 +0000

My motto is the well-known Nike slogan: Just do it. I find that even if I don’t yet have a winning idea, I need to start writing out my thoughts. Eventually, the right approach will come to me, but often only after I’ve tried a few different directions that didn’t work.

By: Eileen Coale

Eileen Coale — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:28:49 +0000

For some goofy reason, ideas always seem to start popping just as I’m picking up the afternoon carpool. As I navigate home through afternoon traffic, I’ll dictate phrases, headlines, and ideas to my daughter, who scribbles them down while making comments about just how weird her mother is.

By: Ed Gandia, Editor

Ed Gandia, Editor — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:21:04 +0000

You know what’s funny about the ideas when they do come to me? The whole thing is kind of unceremonious. I’m walking the dog, driving, or taking a shower (I should try the hot tub thing, Pete!)…and the right idea just kind of surfaces without fanfare.

No drum roll. No victorious music in the background. It just kind of comes out, dressed in plain clothes.

So pay attention, folks. The best ideas won’t necessarily show up wearing an Armani suits.

By: Michael Temple

Michael Temple — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:02:52 +0000

“it seems many successful people (at least the ones whose books I’ve read) have a hot tub!”

I wonder if I can write off a new hot tub…after all if it is an idea factory doesn’t fall under investment in plants and equipment

Seriously, this is a great strategy. I don’t follow this exact methodology. I am not sure I even consciously “assign” a problem to my subconscious, but over the course of a couple of days solutions start to pop in my head (usually in the shower) to problems my subconscious mind had been plugging away on for a day or so.

By: Pete Savage, Editor

Pete Savage, Editor — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:11:40 +0000

Ed, I too make a regular habit of “assigning” my subconscious mind the task of finding solutions to obscure or complex problems and, yes, invariably these solutions pop up when I’m away from my desk, in a relaxed state of mind. This topic reminds me of a pattern I recently noticed… it seems many successful people (at least the ones whose books I’ve read) have a hot tub! Sounds funny, but Michael Masterson and Joe Vitale are two examples of highly successful copywriters (they both do other things, of course) who mention relaxing “in the hot tub” as a key part of their day, or where they received inspiration to solve a big problem. I also remember years ago attending a seminar by another accomplished freelancer who he called his hot tub “the idea factory.” There’s just something about relaxing that’s conducive to the emergence of new ideas. This is also a proven cognitive phenomenon, having been explored and explained by people with far more scientific chops than me. All I know is… it works. I encourage others to follow Ed’s “recipe” above and see what sort of results you get.