Categories: Articles

Find Your Next Big Idea

What’s your big idea? Struggling with finding one? What’s Next?

Too much has been written on creativity, big ideas and where they come from. For some, it’s a pragmatic approach. Author Steven Pressfield once said, that writers have to “put their ass where their heart is.” Others believe that no matter how hard you may be working, something magical is what makes creativity happen. Some have it, while others don’t. Famed author, Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat Pray Love, etc…) recently released a book titled, Big Magic – Creative Living Beyond Fear. This book is less about finding your next big, creative idea, and much more about what it takes to lead a life that enables you to access those ideas… and, it’s a tremendous read.

What does a meaningful, creative life look like?

In conjunction with the book’s release, the TED website ran a post titled, Fear Is Boring, And Other Tips For Living A Creative Life. In this post, Gilbert shares her eleven best pieces of advice (make sure to check out the article for a much deeper dive into what each of them mean):

If you’re alive, you’re a creative person.
You’re not a genius, you have a genius.
Make something, do something, do anything.
Stop complaining and get to work.
Frustration is not an interruption of the process, frustration is the process.
Let go of your fantasy of perfection.
You can’t get rid of fear, but do remember that fear is boring.
If something is authentic enough, it will feel original.
If you’re in the arts, you don’t need graduate school.
Creative fields make for crap careers.
Curiosity is the truth and the way of creative living.

Dig deeper. Dig much deeper.

This past week, the tenth episode of my other podcast, Groove – The No Treble Podcast, came out. It features a conversation I had with Victor Wooten. One of the world’s most acclaimed and respected bass players. Victor Wooten published a book a few years back called, The Music Lesson. It is a book that will forever change you. Not because it was written by one of the world’s greatest musicians, but because the message is core to living a life worth celebrating. Music is all over Victor Wooten. He was bathed in it from the womb (that’s not a clever play on words, just ask him). He came to the bass – as his main instrument – honestly enough (his brothers plopped it on him). His music comes from within. Wooten uses the bass, so that the rest of us can hear what’s on his inside. He’s masterful… and it’s not a word that should be tossed around lightly. A respected player, teacher, philosopher and lover of nature, Wooten is a creative spirit. This podcast, like Gilbert’s creativity rules above and her new book, are truly inspiring, if you’re thinking more about how to let your creative soul roam free.

And, in you case you were looking for something to watch this weekend…

With that, Elizabeth Gilbert also spent close to 30 minutes this week, speaking to q on CBC about her book, Big Magic, her pieces of advice above, and more. This conversation will provide you with both inspiration and motivation to think differently about your work… and where your next idea will come from.

Curious? You should be…

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.