Thursday, October 17, 2013

What's the Big Idea?

For a few years now I've collected ideas in a notebook on my bedside table. Whenever a business plan, a home improvement project, or a story comes to me, I write it down. So far I'm up to 88 ideas, and many of them involve putting artwork on tee-shirts and selling them. Even more are book ideas. Some concepts are elaborate, others are simple. Most  are completely random, like Number 47: "Come up with a Facebook just for pets. Owners can create pages for their dogs or cats or birds (or whatever) and interact with other people and their pets. I'd call it Petface." (Okay, I never said the concepts were super, but I'm hoping SOMEthing will click by the time I get to the magic 100th idea!)
Chris Zokan's Photos
Where do these ideas come from? One place - almost always. A mind distracted by simple tasks: on a run, in the shower, washing dishes, in the car. And better than any of those places is my meditation cushion.
I love my ideas. I have a feeling the only thing holding me back is the limits I put on the new thoughts I allow, the space I give myself. And in meditation, I'm walking up to the great ocean of ideas and scooping them out by the netful. So why don't I meditate more? Here's another 100 reasons to sit still: http://www.ineedmotivation.com/blog/2008/05/100-benefits-of-meditation/  
How about you? Where do your ideas come from? Would you put your pet on Petface?