A variety of environments sparks a higher quality of ideas.Try to brainstorm at different times and locations: for instance, when you wake up one day, at lunch the next, and right before bed the day after that.

Vary where and when you think

The most valuable ideas are ones that solve problems for people.Think about what problems people have that you’d like to solve.

Focus on ideas that solve problems

Idea generation is fueled by consumption, not creativity.Creativity is just connecting things. The more things we have to connect, the better our ideas will become.Consider the quantity and quality of things you consume, like books, movies, TV shows, articles and people you interact with.

Consider what you consume

The process of communicating an idea helps to clarify it and see it in a new way. Express your own ideas out loud to somebody.

Speak your ideas

To get the most value out of what you consume, it helps to have a mode of output: Talk about it, write about it or condense it into a tweet.

Output

The process of coming up with questions to ask and listening to people's answers can lead to new ideas.It trains us to look for different viewpoints and layers to things.

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Recognize ideas that constantly come to you and develop a system to capture them.Carry around a notebook, leave yourself a voicemail, send an email or use any other way to capture the idea.

Capture ideas when they come

To improve your idea generation, zoom out your perspective to a macro level. For example, on a micro-level, a Billy Joel concert may just be a fun way to spend a night. On a macro level, it is packed with ideas about how to connect with an audience.

Expand your viewpoint

There are infinite answers to every challenge.Seek out different ways people answer the same question. Consume conflicting ideas to help you see the bigger picture.

Study opposite takes on the same idea

How to train yourself to generate better ideas. It's not hard to come up with a great idea. What's hard is to develop the habits that enable us to come up with great ideas. The extent to which we incorporate these habits into our lives ultimately determines the quality of our ideas.

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