In this 5-minute audio I break down a process that I have used for years to get ideas out of my head and make them bigger and better. You can use this exercise for anything – creativity, marketing, relationships, or anything else you want to plant, water, and grow.
And – it only gets better the more you do it.
If you do it once, think it’s lame, and never do it again let me know. I want to come over and kick your butt.
You can listen to it with the player below or you can download the MP3 (Right Click | Save As) and put it on your favorite device – here’s mine and it goes on every walk, hike or run I take. I pack it with brain food but I hear they work for music as well 
Barry
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6 responses so far ↓
1 Niels Duinker
For me I always have ideas in my head where I am really exited about..than I get so excited that I just want to tell it to people/everybody. Even when I was a kid I realized that when I told somebody something that I was going to do..I really had to do it otherwise they wouldn’t trust me next time..So I knew that telling my plans to people worked extremely well for me to get things done..because I didn’t want to waste my reputation and to let me actions match my words.
2 Corporate Juggler
It’s funny to me that you make up for not getting something done on time by telling us how to get things done.
Telling people my ideas is usually the opposite of activating for me. I write down my ideas in a complicated maze of computer folders and if I can take action on it right now, I put something in my todo list. I can put out really good quality stuff under pressure, so I’ll set up a meeting with someone important before the idea is developed. That forces me to immediately prioritize and get the important stuff done before the meeting. So, basically. I work well with a deadline.
3 Frisbee
I have found that I do not trust other performers when I have ideas…
I like to talk about ideas with people, but I have found that if I talk really cool, potentially original and creative show ideas that other performers can be greedy.
I have had two ideas stolen from me point blank and then when I called the specific performers on it they said “oh didn’t I tell you I had the same idea and have been working on it the past two years before you ever told me…and I did not tell you I was working on it because…blah blah blah”
I have shared information and ideas with other performers with my marketing ideas and telling these supposed friends my routine and creative ideas only to have it come back and bite me.
I do still share my thoughts and ideas, but not with many performers anymore…
4 Barry
CJ – Complicated maze of computer folders? Oh man, I can almost hear my brain shut down. I’m real glad you found something that works for you… We are all so different in how our brains work. Here is a really crappy picture of 1/2 of my mind map for Get More Corporate Gigs. A far cry from your complicated maze of computer folders, but it’s exactly what works for my brain.
Frisbee – Sorry you have been burned. I mentioned in my MP3 that I have these talks with my family. I should have warned against sharing your vision with someone in your exact field. I am really talking about using someone as a wall – not a sponge. I’m not looking for strokes when I share a vision. Rather, I am doing it for me, as a chance to get the stuff out of my complicated maze of brain cells and into the world where I can draw a flowchart.
Be real careful… these visions are your assets and you should never fling them around just to show what you have. As I mentioned, be clear about what you want in the way of feedback. You would never walk into a room full of swindlers swinging around a bag of gold, right? Know the outcome you want before you share anything.
Nels – good work, man. Self-accountability is a huge motivator for many people. I love it!
5 Niels Duinker
Exactly Greg..A couple years ago when I performed at several street theater festivals I was talking on the phone with one of my friends who did and still does street shows as well. I told him that I was going to change the intro music of my show (pre-show music) because I found a piece of music that had a much better vibe to gather a crowd fast. The week thereafter I talked with him on the phone again and he told me..Yeah that music really rocks I tried it last weekend in my show and it worked really well. Pardon me! I was like dude..You know that it wasn’t for that purpose that I had shared this thing with you. So now I share pretty much nothing with him anymore. I noticed many people want to cooperate with you but not because they want to help each other out and improve equally. I always feel happy when they are trying to fish for information because indirectly they compliment me that I do well at some point.
I don’t know anymore who said it: But he said I always try to get more myself because that enables me to give more to other people. If you can cooperate with somebody on that concept then you are able to make great chances fast. If this is not the idea behind the bound than it is better to stop immediately because than the improvement/help would turn out one-way direction with somebody lifting one somebody else’s success.
6 Corporate Juggler
Barry; when I’m working on an idea, I’ll make a map like you or a outline or just drawings like mad, but then, I file it away so that I know it will be useful sometime. Usually I’m working on too much stuff to do implement it at that moment, but I’ll let my mind purge and refine it some to make sure that I can come back to a beautiful surprise when I’m in need.
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