Where Ideas Come From by Matthew Furey

Many people often wonder where the so-called "creative" people get their ideas.

They're looking for answers that are profound. There aren't any.

Ideas are in the air at all times. You simply reach into the substance and pull one out by doing something that all young kids do in their imagination each and every day.

And that is—you "make it up".

Yes, you may "make up" your ideas based upon things you've already seen and heard—or felt. Yes, you may combine one thing with another thing until you have something unique, but you still "made it up".

And when you make things up, you do so without resistance. You simply imagine—then move.

The other day my kids were beating me with punches while I was lying on the couch. My seven and three-year kids were saying, 'Inside Kung Fu"—then chopping me.

A minute later it was "Errrh, muscles." And they're flexing and strutting around.

"Where are they getting this stuff?" I think.

Sure, they've been influenced by me—but I have never gone around our home saying "Inside Kung Fu" while throwing punches—nor have I ever flexed in front of my kids, grunted and said the word "muscles".

Yes, there are bits and pieces of these elements at play—but most certainly NOT in the manner my kids put them together. And as soon as the ideas "popped" into their creative little minds, they moved and began expressing what they were thinking.

Becoming successful in business is much the same way.

All my successes on the Internet as well as off the Internet were NOT a result of long-term planning, trying to get every detail right before doing anything.

They were a result of using my imagination to come up with an idea—then moving forward on the idea—and continuing to move forward on it until the idea gets completed.

And coming up with ideas isn't hard. They're all around us. Just look at little kids and you'll see what I mean.

Sure, you may think it's different with business.

But is it, really?