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As a Spider Spins Its Web

How to Have and Capture More Creative Ideas

By Dan Goodwin

How many creative ideas would you say you have each day, on average?

And how many of these are useful, substantial, workable ideas that can be developed and interwoven into part of a new creative project?

Many of us who create complain of a lack of new ideas. How can we possibly create when we’ve no starting point, no initial idea to jump off from and expand upon?

The fact is, we’re ALL capable of having more ideas than we can handle.

We just need to put into place the right creative mindset to let them flow into us more freely. We also need a way of capturing them in enough detail so that when we return to them they still give that spark of energy and inspiration.

So how can we do this?

Well, think of the humble spider. There’s nothing a spider likes more than a juicy fly to feed on. It’s the spider’s favourite meal, as well as being essential nourishment for his survival.

So, what does the spider do to catch the fly?

Does he just sit around twiddling his, er, legs, waiting for a depressed fly to come to him, pleading “eat me, I’m yours, my life is over, I just can’t take it any longer... ?!"

Or does the spider pop down his local restaurant for a tasty fly a l’orange, a delicious spaghetti fly carbonara, or maybe just a few fried fly nuggets and fries?

Hmm, probably not.

The spider has developed an effective way to capture the fly.

He spins his sticky web across places where the fly is likely to pass, the fly gets ensnared and tangled, and the spider moves in for his next delicious meal.

So how can we learn from the spider and his web spinning techniques?

Quite simply, if we want more creative ideas, we must also take these two steps:

Step 1: Regularly position ourselves in the kind of places where we’ll find new creative ideas.

Step 2: Develop ways to effectively capture these ideas.

Here are some tips to help you do each of these:

Positioning:

• Where can you go that you’re going to be inspired more?

• What places have you been to in the past that have given you fresh insight and fuelled your creativity?

• How can you be aware of potential ideas that are all around you?

• How can you be more attuned with each of your 5 senses — the receptors through which you experience the world?

• How can you give yourself permission to be more open to creative ideas? (Here’s a clue: try saying “I am open to the flow of creative ideas. Ideas flow through to me like water flows over a waterfall...” at least 20 times a day and notice the difference it makes).

Capture:

• How do you currently capture the ideas you have?

• How can you use a notebook, sketchbook, camera or voice recorder to capture more ideas as they occur?

• How can you develop ways of getting the essence and juice of a great idea captured vividly enough so when you return to it, it’s still as inspiring?

• How can you overcome the habit of judging and dismissing an idea as worthless before you capture it and give it a chance to grow?

• How can you keep ideas somewhere that’s easy to access when you need to use them?

Commit to addressing at least 2 of the questions from each of the 2 stages — Positioning and Capture — over the next few weeks.

Remember our friend the spider and the proven technique he uses.

Experiment to find your own versions of the spider’s web, and soon you’ll find you’ll have more great creative ideas than you thought possible.

:: Share Your Experience ::

Which techniques are you going to start using today to help you have more and capture more creative ideas?

Share your experiences and comments about this article and see what others are saying at Dan's blog: A Leap Across A Chasm. •

© Copyright 2007 Dan Goodwin

About the Author | More by Dan Goodwin
Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin is the author of “Create Create!”, a FREE twice monthly ezine for people who want simple and powerful articles, tips and exercises to help them unleash their creative talents. Sign up right now and get your FREE “Explode Your Creativity!” Action Workbook, at www.CoachCreative.com.

05/26/07