Capturing and creating ideas

Business and personal challenges often demand new ideas–those often fleeting solutions that streak through dreams, only to be forgotten in seconds.

One thing that distinguishes creative people from others, according to Psychology Today, is that the creative ones have learned ways to pay attention to and preserve some of the new ideas that occur to them. They have capturing skills.

Scientist Otto Loewi struggled long with a problem in cell biology. One night, a new approach occurred to him in his sleep. He grabbed a pen and wrote it down in the dark. But the next morning he couldn’t read it. Fortunately, the great solution came to him again during sleep. Taking no chances, he went straight to his lab. He won the Nobel Prize for the work he began that night.

People who want to capture their ideas develop methods of doing it. Artists have sketchpads. Writers carry notebooks. Restaurant napkins are famous media for brilliant brainstorms.

Salvador Dali got ideas for paintings from his early sleep state. For new inspiration, he devised the “slumber with a key” method. He put a plate upside down on the floor next to his chair. Then he would relax back in the chair extending his arms over the sides. In his fingers, he lightly balanced a heavy key or spoon. When he drifted off to sleep, the spoon fell onto the plate and the sound would wake him. He would then sketch the images he was seeing.

Steve Jobs always conducted his most serious discussions and brainstorming sessions while walking.

In fact, research from Stanford University says that walking increases the flow of ideas by 60 percent over sitting.

Anyone can learn to capture new ideas and nudge creativity to new levels. So can you, so develop your own technique and you will soon discover that you are more creative than you think.