We’ve been talking about the idea storming process…

Brainstorming, then letting the idea mull around in your unconscious thought for a while.

I just read a bit by Bertrand Russell. You’ve heard of him I’m sure. A prolific writer in the early 1900s. He wrote quite a bit about math and the mind.

Betrand once wrote “I have found that if I have to write upon some rather difficult topic the best plan is to think about it with very great intensity - the greatest intensity of which I am capable - for a few hours or days, and at the end of that time give orders, so to speak, that the work is to proceed underground. After some months I would return consciously to the topic and find that the work had been done.”

As an example of minor idea generation in action, in 1998 I decided to start up my own website but I was uncertain what to call it. The goal was to generate a site while I learned a new lifestyle. I desired a space online to record the things I’d learned so that others might one day use it as a reference.

I had no desire to dominate the search engines or make a living online, so the name didn’t need to be competitive. But it did need to be catchy.

Idea generation for the site name went something like this:

Country Living (name of a popular magazine and I didn’t want to compete with that),
Life on the Farm (somewhat catchy, reminiscent of a john denver song, closer to my goal as I WANTED TO cover livestock and gardens)
…and then Green Acres (thoughts of successful farming and an early 70s show with eva gabor.

Other names came to mind but for the purpose of this example, that’s enough.

I left the work of site naming for awhile - it wasn’t imperative that I have my idea name immediately - and I moved onto some other work. As I worked I found myself singing the theme song from that series in the 70s: “Green Acres is the place to be, fun living is for you and me…you are my wife, Goodbye City Life!”

… and the name idea was born!

P.S I hope you caught the big secret to this technique! You must move onto some other mind engaging activity when you leave your idea to your subconscious. If you just hit the couch or do your laundry your bright idea will likely not come to you. You must find a way to keep your conscious brain actively working so that your subconscious brain kicks into action in the back ground.