Mitch Ditkoff's 14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas

After reading Mitch Ditkoff's 14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas, much of the frustration that comes during my creative process finally has a few remedies to take note of. This article provided 14 different notions that innovators should consider when coming across the difficult stages of idea birthing and brainstorming.

The man, the myth, the homework assignment.

One thing that immediately caught my attention was the contrast of the 2 “schools of thought” or philosophies about idea creation or reception. I think Ditkoff wants to begin this excerpt with a sense of open-mindedness, which in fact becomes the basis for many of his different thinking tips.

Ditkofff also annotates towards the end of his prelude that we are all capable of conjuring brilliant ideas, it might just seem more difficult given our mood, circumstances, and conditioning.

Let's take a look at 3 tips that hit home for me...

#2 Immersion

I couldn't explain with all the blogspace in the world the agonizing pain that frustration brings when trying to conceive a new or innovative idea. Mostly because I'm already so caught up in many other different things in my life that I couldn't fully concentrate in the first place. Well, that is what Mitch Ditkoff is yelling at me about in his second proposition to idea-birthing: “Immersion”

He says that ideas are flowing in and out of us all the time, it's the capacity at which you can receive and foster a breakthrough idea. When I thought about this, it hit me that I always experience minor epiphanies daily but I'm too busy to give it thought and attention. And then, when I finally sit down to come up with something creative I am unable to and it frustrates me, and so does the laundry, and my phone going off, and my unsorted emails, blah blah etc.

 New Concept: Thinking cap that sorts your Gmail and underwear for you.

The point is, we are the only animal that attempts to multi-task all of our duties at one time, and it's an overhaul on the mind. True creativity stems from dedicated time to creativity.

#3 Tolerate Ambiguity

So now that I've learned how to deal with outside distractions when in my thinking chair, what about all the distractions and hurdles that lie within the creative process itself? Sure, you've sat down with no other commitments to divide your attention upon, and you've come up with a general notion for something innovative, but there's still so far to go.

Ditkoff explains that ideas don't commonly fall out of the sky and hit us all at once. In fact, he says new ideas come from constant practice, trial and error, and series of approximations. There is a “grey zone” that separates our initial notions from fully developed ideas or innovations. He uses Thomas Edison as a prime example with the 800+ trials he went through to finalize the lightbulb. But Mr. Edison held an attribute throughout his process that helped him endure the constant “failures”, and it was that he didn't see his failed attempts as a negativity, he saw them as “ways to not create a lightbulb”. We are all destined to fail at least once, but it's how many times you can endure that feeling of failure before you give up.

Thomas Edison did eventually give up on minesweeper.

#4 Make New Connections

Sometimes it's difficult to think of an innovative new concept because you are trying to create the most insanely fresh and untouched idea possible. Many new concepts derive solely from two or more existing ideas combined in some way. Ditkoff says “Rollerblades? It's just ice skating and roller skating combined.” 

 Taking it a step further.

If I could do one thing, it would be to create the newest, freshest concept known to us today. But let's get real, it takes less effort to construct and idea using two or more existing elements and creating a connection for them.

I remember one day being bored, trying to think of a new concept for a useful website. It was difficult to get started because I was confined to thinking about the non-existent, “the frontier”. Well, I wasn't getting anywhere, until I realized “Holy spit, Adrian there has to be a website for almost every concept I'm thinking of, but there is a high probability there isn't a website that creates a useful connection of preexisting innovations.” So then I began thinking in a different spectrum, like using different Lego pieces to build something big, instead of trying to create the new Lego piece.

Well anyways, I then came up with a video/audio/text chat site that combines shared e-textbooks for college students to collaboratively study online.

Yahyahyah it's kinda lame but you get the point right?

Activity #4:

Nouns

-computer

-car

-hat

-fan

-table

-drink

-chair

-window

-power

-wheel

Verbs

-organize

-communicate

-prioritize

-concentrate

-read

-relax

-save

-hear

-draw

-sing

Adjectives
-loud
-tall
-short
-small
-sharp
-dark
-colorful
 -black
-rich
-attractive
Intriguing connections:
Computer table, Fan with different color blades, Recliner chair with speakers built in. To-Do list on a Window pane?...