More Change

Change and Creativity Part 3

How did that happen? Its next week already. I hope this topic is interesting enough for a 3 week post cause here’s the last one. You may remember that this all started because I was thinking about the 8 years of eLetters, Thinking for a Change that I’ve written and sent around the world (If for some strange reason you aren’t already subscribed, here’s the link. It is free, very short, and thought provoking. What are you waiting for?) and I thought I’d take this opportunity to explain where the ideas come from. So far, we’ve covered that you have to have regular connections to a variety of sources, keep a notebook handy so you have a place to write down the ideas you find, and here’s the really big payoff, number 3: have a focus.

When you know what you’re looking for and are interested in AND you let others know it too, they start feeding you information. You will be amazed how much people want to share information and how much information they have to share, as soon as they know you’re looking. Every week after Thinking for a Change hits inboxes wonderful people click the email Chris button and send me stories, quotes, song titles, book suggestions, and their reaction to my musings. I love each one of them. Many of them have found their way into future issues, some become new material for presentations, and if nothing else, a terrific reason for a smile in the middle of the daily email avalanche.

 (BTW If you’re one of those wonderful people who has sent me a comment or quote over the years, allow me to say a big THANK YOU! Keep ‘em coming. And to the person who sent the embedded Change picture – WOW! You’ve got to know I loved this one a lot.) 

Now you may not have an email that goes to thousands of people weekly, but this will work for you just the same. You just have to announce your interests and then listen to what others have to say and share. Newspaper clippings will show up in your mail (yes, people do still send letters through the USPS). Pictures in your inbox. Jokes left on voice mail. Book recommendations over cocktails. Even buttons and bumper stickers for your lapel and car. All ideas you wouldn’t necessarily discover on your own but that will enrich your world view when you share your focus and pay attention.

Let’s see how it works. I’m creating a playlist of songs about change. Blog posted in 2 weeks will list my Top 10. Want to submit a song for me to consider? Send me a comment with your entry and see if it makes the list. I have a clean page in my notebook and credit to spend on iTunes.

Looking For Ideas, Part Two

Now let’s see…where was I? Last week I pondered the need to have regular connections with sources if you want or need a steady stream of new ideas or materials. I promised a deeper look at the second key to interesting thinking: Having a notebook.

Ideas are fleeting.  Like it or not as the years go by, our memories are not as efficient as they once were. Blame it on age, overload, or too little sleep – any one works. That brilliant quote you heard while driving to work will be as lost as the impulse that drove you into the kitchen last night. In both cases, you’re left standing in the middle of a room, shaking your head, and muttering, “what or why?”

When you bump into a worthy quote, statistic, or source, you need to develop the habit of jotting it down in your always-at-hand notebook. Two things can then happen. The act of writing creates a better possibility that you might just remember it, and if you don’t, you’ll have a record to refer to. Nice.

(Side note: please notice that the second key is having a notebook, not having a lot of little pieces of paper!  Writing things down on little pieces of paper actually does the opposite of what I’m talking about. If you follow the little-pieces-of-paper behavior to its logical end, you’ll soon realize that not only do you have quotes, statistics, and sources to drag out of your memory, you’ll have to find that piece of paper you wrote them on! Trust me, this is not a pretty hunt!

Side note continued. But Chris, you’re saying, I’m a high tech kind of person. Paper and pencil are so passé. What about keeping these valuable pieces of information on my iPhone, Blackberry or whatever else vibrates in your pocket or bottom of your bag? Hey, I like my technology as much if not more – Kindle, anyone? - than the next early adopter, Okay, give your electronic note keeping a try, but I’m convinced that you trigger a different memory response from writing than from keyboarding. Let me know how it works for you.)

Carrying a notebook and making it the repository of all your sources and the ideas they prompt works effectively for both collection and recall. Once you get used to having it with you, you’ll feel naked without it. And even if you fall for the “grab a piece of paper and jot it down disease” you’ll have the good sense to tape said piece of paper in your notebook post haste!