Page 83 - 100 Ways to Motivate Yourself

ideas start to flow. It is usually among the unreasonable ideas that something

great is discovered. Brainstorming works so well because the usual restraints
against stupidity are lifted. It’s okay to be unreasonable and far out.

What most people in business don’t realize is that this powerful technique
can also be used by an individual. I first discovered this while driving in my car
a number of years ago listening to a motivational tape by Earl Nightingale. He
talked about a system he had learned that worked wonders.

On the top of a piece of paper or blank document, you put a problem you
want solved or a goal you want reached. You then put numbers 1 through 20 on
it and begin your brainstorming session. The rules are the same as with a group
session. You have to list 20 ideas, and they don’t have to be well thought out or
even reasonable. Give yourself permission to flow. Your only objective is to
have 20 ideas scrawled down within a certain short amount of time.

If you do this for a week, you will end up with 100 ideas! Are all of them
usable? Of course not, but who cares? When you began the process you probably
didn’t have any usable ideas.

I have used this system many times with really great results. It works so well
because it relaxes the normal tensions against creative, outrageous thinking. It
invites the right side of your brain to play along.

A friend once called for some advice about his career. He was in show

business and had developed his act to the point where he was one of the top
performers in the nation. His problem was marketing and self-promotion. That
part of his career was lagging behind his talent.

“What if I told you that there is someone who can give you 100 specific
marketing ideas tailored to your precise career and audience?” I asked him. He
was very interested.

“You yourself are that person,” I said.

I then told him about the list-of-20 self-storming technique I had personally
been using for a number of years. He eagerly jotted down the rules of the game
and got busy playing. Two weeks later, he called me very excited about the
results. “I’ve got some really great marketing ideas right now, more than I’ve
ever had in the past,” he said. “Thanks.”

Self-mentoring is the best mentoring you can get because your mentor
knows you so well. And although it’s often beneficial to get specific outside