patience is a virtue.

over the halfway mark, time for some rest. you didn't think i would give them all at once, did you ? go have some ideas of your own.

#29 use analogies

analogies are useful because what works in one area often works in another if you just chose the right imagery or terms.

#28 everything has been done before

yes, probably, but no, not by you. so first of all don't knock your idea when you find out but hold it in higher esteem because you're not alone in finding it worthwhile. lots of inventors in history had similar ideas at the same time. this synchronicity is linked to historical inevitability, one idea leads to another, one technical invention leads to ideas in other areas.

#27 ideas are contagious

so mingle.

#26 digress

allow yourself to digress, unless your a one idea marsupil.

#25 share your ideas

what's the use of having an idea and keeping it to yourself. timing, fermentation, fruition, yes all that, yet sitting on ideas only flattens them.

#24 you have no idea

and contrary to what you might think, i haven't got a clue either.

#23 never be afraid to change your idea

or to stick to it.

#22 read concise literature

longwinded literature will draw you in. if you're stuck for ideas it might be better to read concise biographies of guides preferably on other subjects, this will free some synapses for free association.

#21 if there's no box, paint one.

to think outside the box, you might need to invent a box. it's often useful to limit your scope.

#20 feedback or no feedback

some people need feedback, some people need to be alone.

#19 write it down because you will forget

what it says above in the title.

#18 you don't need instruments to have ideas

you don't need instruments to have ideas, though they might be useful to develop them further. so don't use the excuse of not having any for having no ideas or not thinking about developing them.

#17 take a load off

as ideas come when you least expect it. you need to rest sometime and let your mind wander. great artists or inventors know how to work but also know how to be 'lazy'.

#16 some people need deadlines, some don't.

though we're all a lot alike, we're not the same. what works for you, might not work for me. it doesn't hurt to try though.

#15 ideas are never complete

ideas are never finished completely. don't wait for them to be before putting them out there.

#14 ideas are dynamic

just like you ideas are dynamic and should not be fixed or anchored.

#13 keep an open mind

don't always look straight ahead. told you it would reappear in a different form.

#12 conceptualize

gather ideas into a concept. even if you think they are tangential to the concept or opposed to it. juxtaposition and tangents will help you deepen the concept and will breed new ideas.

#11 you/i/we don't know everything

we don't know everything. i might even say most of us don't know anything.

#10 every idea has merit

every idea has merit so don't throw it away because you think it is ridiculous. you probably think someone else thinks it's ridiculous. ideas don't adhere to social norms.

#9 set low targets, but aim high

getting to a target will make you feel good about yourself, so don't set them too high. the energy you'll get from reaching them, will push you above the target.

#8 don't follow rules

what it says, don't follow rules, only guidelines.

#7 stuck in a rut, use random gameplay

if you're stuck, just browse. preferably books or magazines, the internet is weblike and draws you in instead of making you draw.

#6 encourage others

envy and greed are counterproductive. use your energy to create not to shield.

#5 widen your angle

or peripheral thinking, this will pop up again in different forms. if you stare straight ahead and there is an obstacle, you will just see the obstacle and not the way around, over or under.

#4 there is no such thing as a blank page.

just draw on it or use magazines and draw and scribble in the margins.

#3 if an idea has already been developed, rejoice.

sometimes you'll find you had an idea but that idea has already been had by someone else. this just means you have good ideas so it should strenghten you. you might find that it makes you less special yet you should also feel less alone. as for special, the road to the idea was probably different, so rejoice even more. you are special, we all are.

#2 every thought is an idea

every thought may be an idea yet not every idea is worth pusuing. triage is a good idea. don't be afraid to scrap an idea, if it is worth anything it'll pop up again. good ideas are like daisy growing through concrete.

#1 don't try to have any

trying to have an idea is the best way not to have any. so just don't try to have ideas. if you're stuck for an idea, just go do something else. "and they will come".

the beginning

i have lots of ideas and this is one of them. one night i thought 'hmm' and jotted down on a piece of paper "57 ideas about having ideas" with an afterthought was "this 57 might get me in trouble with heinz so maybe 51 instead; that's also a nice number... nah trouble will give promotion. so here it goes.