Page 115 - The Business Idea Factory: A World-Class System for Creating Successful Business Ideas

Mindless activities

Next time when you are bored…

Our brain is an incredibly powerful thinking machine, but when we are busy much of this capacity is
unavailable. When we ar e bo r ed and per fo r m mindless activities, o ur analytical br ain do esn’t wo r k
and allows the subconscious mind to think at full capacity. Although washing dishes, ironing, jogging
on a treadmill or staring at the wall in a subway car doesn’t sound inspiring, these activities are very
stimulating for creative thinking.

Next time you are bored or need to kill time, instead of listening to an MP3 player, playing games on
a mobile phone or reading a book, give your brain a task to think about a particular problem and give
your mind a chance to wander. By the time the mindless, repetitive or boring activity is over, you will
have generated a lot of interesting ideas. When great thinkers are waiting in line, mowing the lawn or
cleaning, they say, “Wow! It’s boring. What a fruitful time to think about new ideas.”

Idea shower

The executive dir ecto r o f the Neur o Leader ship Institute in the U.S., David Ro ck, po lled o ver 6,000
people to figure out where they generate their best ideas. Guess what? The shower was the most often
mentioned location.

Although a shower doesn’t look as inspirational as a hammock on the beach at the ocean, it is indeed
an incredibly stimulating place for generating ideas. Firstly, a shower is a mindless activity that
stimulates daydreaming. Secondly, warm water makes your body relaxed, which is important for high
performance of the subconscious mind. Finally, when you go to the shower you change location,
which stimulates the brain with a new experience.

Don’t waste your shower time! Set tasks for the subconscious and after almost every trip to the
shower you will come back with one, two or three good ideas. Make sure to write down all ideas,
sometimes even before you finish washing yourself because ideas are the most fragile thing in the
world and can evaporate as unexpectedly as they come.