Brainstorming
“Creativity takes courage.”- Matisse
Yesterday, I spent about 4 hours sitting in my office, brainstorming with 3 different clients. I was helping them flesh out their ideas, on a variety of topics from unorthodox ways to get funding for medical school when you’re not a US citizen, to structuring and organizing a potentially groundbreaking book, to using social media to create long term opportunities for grants for single dads and community-building. A great deal of it was talking aloud different ideas, and seeing which ones stuck, and where they took us. Yes, at the end of the day my brain was very tie-tie. My brain needed a stiff margarita. My brain was also very happy.
The importance of brainstorming is that so many people have an indistinct idea for, say, getting a new job, or going to grad school, or writing a book, or starting a business, but because it’s a brand new endeavor, they’re not really sure how to go about it. But because we live in a society OBSESSED with success (yet simultaneously unrealistic about the hard work that goes into constructing said success), many people believe that they should somehow be born knowing how to do everything and anything they want, so confronted with something new, their old, reliable self-doubt kicks in. People think, “Well, what the hell would I know about running a business anyway?” And they reject themselves. Before they even start, they reject themselves. Drives me insane.
You have an idea that’s still gestating? Great! This is when you should start researching the idea, as you look for mentors and other smart, empathetic people to give you advice and support. After all, how could you possibly know how to write a book when you’ve never written one before? How could you know how to start a business when it’s your first one? Instead of deciding that because you don’t know what you should be doing with your life every single minute… whoa! Maybe cut yourself a break and start looking for help. One of the people whom I spoke with yesterday, had at first resisted talking to me because she felt her ideas were too rough to be worthy of brainstorming. But that’s exactly when you need to brainstorm, when you’re not a 100% sure what it is you’re even thinking about.
I’m just reminding you people that creativity is an incredibly messy and chaotic process…and that’s what makes it so exciting. If you have an interesting idea, nurture it and allow it to grow and change your life, by admitting that you don’t know everything, and that’s absolutely normal. Then allow yourself to seek out help from people who themselves don’t know everything, but perhaps know a little bit more than you on this particular subject. There’s enough sad, jealous people out there who will put you and your ideas down. How about you seek out ways to help yourself thrive?