At the end of our 12-Step Creativity Program, let’s recap the steps we took to get where we are now.

First, we learned how to view the world through the eyes of a child. We learned how to laugh and how to truly enjoy life again.

Then, we learned how to appreciate people in our world. If we can’t appreciate the people that make up our world, how can we break outside of ourselves to be creative?

From there, we learned how to relax and create. Build a house with Legos. Draw a hopscotch game on a sidewalk with chalk and play with the neighborhood kids. Play with Playdough. Have FUN!

Then, we discussed how we all have problems, but we have to learn how to compartmentalize our lives so that we can continue with our idea generation and content building.

Next, fill your world with something fun. Buy something that makes you smile and take it to your office.

You’re not creative? We discussed how virtually everyone has a spark of creativity in them if he or she will only open his/her mind to the experience.

From there, we talked about getting an idea partner, someone to help you brainstorm.

We discussed how to brainstorm, and how it all starts with a simple idea. Then, we had an actual brainstorming session.

Next, we talked about where to get ideas, because ideas comes from everywhere.

Finally, we talked about the importance of writing all ideas down, of being protective of ideas, and remembering that all ideas aren’t good. However, it’s crucial to never give up.

Today, our last step, I want to share a personal story with you, one that might surprise you. I know it will shock Martin.

I used to be a totally left-brained person. What does that mean? Left-brain people are very logical, rational, analytical, and objective. I graduated with a business-related degree, and I went to work for a bank. I was a professional and very career oriented. I could write killer business letters and proposals. I learned accounting, bookkeeping, and a lot about income taxes. I ended up working for a university.

When I quit work to stay home with my oldest son when he was a baby, I decided to start writing fiction. I was an avid reader, so I thought–why not write a book? But it wasn’t easy for me. It was hard to start using the right side of my brain. Right-brain people focus on aesthetics, feelings, ideas, and creativity. I had to learn how to tap into that part of my brain. Of course, I had to learn how to write fiction, but I also had to quit thinking like a business person and start thinking like a writer.

My point is, if I can learn how to be creative, so can you. You can tap into your creative side–just like I did. Just follow these steps, have faith, and have fun. It will be one of the best things you can do for yourself and your Web site.

Thanks for taking the 12-Step Creativity Program. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. GOOD LUCK!

Robin

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Picture used with permission
of David Singer

We’ve spent a lot of time in our 12-Step Creativity Program talking about “ideas.” We’ve discussed how to brainstorm for ideas, the importance of an idea partner, how to start with one idea and expand on that simple thought, and more.

In Day #11, you also need to remember . . .

1. To write all of your ideas down. Buy an idea journal. If you forget a jewel of an idea, what a loss that will be! Carry the journal with you everywhere. You may be most creative while driving down the road, so have your journal with you so you can jot down your ideas at the next red light.

2. To categorize your ideas. What can you do now? What is most important to you? What is in your 5-year plan? What ideas might need to be tweaked to work now?

3. To think big. If you think small, you’ll get small results. If you think BIG, you’ll get BIG results or at least somewhere in between.

4. Not all ideas will work. But if you’re afraid to have ideas, you’ll be stuck where you are now, frozen with fear, never moving forward. “Go getters” take chances. Do you think all of Walt Disney’s ideas worked? Of course not. When they didn’t, he picked himself up, dusted off his britches, and came up with more ideas. Have all of Bill Gates’ ideas worked? I’m sure he would tell you “no.” But innovators keep on going. That’s what you’ll do too. Come up with more ideas. Always move forward.

5. Not to go on foolhardy wild goose chases. Ideas are fantastic, but be able to distinguish between scams and real opportunities.

6. Where to use your ideas. Create new pages of content to capitalize on your ideas, when appropriate. For example, if you have an online book store and your idea is to set up some online writers’ support groups, you could set up a calendar of events, a page for each support group (romance writers, nonfiction writers, mystery writers, etc.), pages where the writers could help write a story together, calendars promoting local support groups, workshops written by members, etc.

7. To protect your “killer” ideas. You may have the tendency to share your ideas, which is only natural. Regretfully, if you talk too much about it, you may find your “killer” idea being used by your competitor. I’ve learned from past experience to keep ideas within a very tight circle. I strongly encourage you to do the same. Ideas can’t be copyrighted.

However, you want to be the first to do something. The Web doesn’t need another toolbar. Come up with an original idea and don’t advertise it until you have it ready to go.

Today’s Assignment:

Buy an idea journal. Write down all of your ideas and categorize them.

Remember: think BIG!

Robin

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Picture used with permission
of David Singer

We’ve talked about “generating ideas” in our 12-step program, but where do these elusive ideas come from? You want more visibility for your Web site, for example, but how can you come up with an idea to get that needed visibility. In other words, you know the end result of what you’re looking for, but you don’t know how to arrive at that result.

Common problem.

It’s also a common problem not to be able to generate ideas easily. That’s why I’ve created this 12-Step Creativity Program. Most of us need a little boost in that area.

Generally, once you have ONE idea, it’s easy to expand on the idea, tweak it, or come up with two ideas. But coming up with the initial idea is sometimes the hardest part.

Here’s my secret. Be more aware of the world around you.

Ideas come from everywhere, but you have to watch for them in the smallest of places. You have to be observant, and not just about your work.

Let me tell you another story, and let me tell you how one simple experience spurred an abundance of ideas in me.

My husband and I were in a restaurant one night. Two men came in to eat, and they were placed in our section. The restaurant is arranged so that there is a central aisle between the bar and the eating area, and the aisle takes you to the restrooms. There are several sections to the restaurant, and each section opens up to the aisle.

One of the men got up to go to the restroom, and he walked extremely slowly, which is why we noticed him. On his way back to his table, he walked very slowly past the entry way to our section. He just kept on walking very slowly. He was watching his table, but he missed the entry way. After he’d walked about 10′, he stopped, hesitated, and turned back around to the entry way and found his table.

My first thought was, bless his heart.

After that, I kept thinking about him and the whole situation. The restaurant was a maze to him, and he had problems manipulating the maze. Then I started thinking about how each city is a maze, each state, each country, and even each office or home. The world is a maze.

Then I started thinking about Web sites. With me, EVERYTHING goes back to Web sites. Web sites are mazes.

Think about it. When someone enters your Web site, they’re entering a maze. How you’ve laid out the maze determines whether or not your potential customers can FIND what you’re selling, much less buy what you’re selling.

Remember that they can enter the maze at any point. There isn’t any starting point, and there may be several ending points that are okay with you. You don’t know where they’re going to enter your site (on the “about us” page, a content page, or an article), and they may leave after signing up for your newsletter, after reading an article (but they’re just getting to know you, so you haven’t struck out yet), or after clicking the “enter credit card information/click to buy” button.

What you don’t want is for them to reach any dead ends with no place to go. You know how mazes have dead ends? Same thing on a Web site.

Here is a maze I created for a speech I gave. You’ll more easily see what I mean when you look at an actual maze. (When I gave the speech, I didn’t tell the story behind the maze, so you’re the first folks to know the story behind the idea.)

Anyway, this maze idea could also be used to demonstrate where troubled teens and adults might be if they’re messed up on drugs and alcohol. Open up all additional windows into the maze but they all reach dead ends. Their life is going no where due to the drugs and alcohol.

The maze could be used to demonstrate so many things.

And the idea all started from a man in a restaurant who couldn’t find his way back to his table.

Are you observant? Do you watch people? Do you notice your surroundings? Do you listen to what people say? It doesn’t have to be related to your business, but can you apply it to your business? (more…)

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Remember in Day #8 when we talked about starting with a single idea and brainstorming from there? That’s what we’re going to do in Day #9 of the 12-Step Program.

Let’s say that we’re all working together to build a playground for some underprivileged kids. We have some 16th section land that’s been given to us for the playground, and a concrete pipe company has donated some huge concrete pipes for our playground.

We have the land, the concrete pipes, our hands and energy for building, our creative minds, and those wonderful kids who need a place to play and who need some sunshine in their lives. We’re just the folks to give it to them.

Look at the brainstorming graphic again. We need ONE idea to start. Here’s my idea:

My idea is to connect the pipes to where the kids can crawl or walk through them in a delightful maze. I’d like to get some paint and let the kids paint pictures on the pipes in bright colors.

I have many other ideas for the playground, but I’m not going to list them. I want YOU to list some of your ideas.

I want the community (YOU) to get involved in this project. What else can we get donated? What else can we build?

Don’t think negatively. No idea is bad. Yes, I know that concrete is hard and can scrape little knees and hurt heads. So rather than think negatively about that, how can we build on to my original idea with another idea that offers a solution?

What else can we do on the playground with those pipes? Think of any twists we could make? What could we do if we cut the concrete pipes in half?

Get creative here. That’s what brainstorming is all about. Once you get used to idea creation, you’ll be able to brainstorm for ideas for your own Web site much easier.

Now, let’s hear YOUR ideas.

I’m going to be out of the office this week. So if I’m not able to post here for a few days, we’ll continue this discussion when I’m back in town.

Robin

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Continuing right along with our 12-Step Creativity Program, today we’re going to learn how to brainstorm for new content and new ideas for your Web site. Once you learn the mechanics, it will become easier for you to come up with new and innovative content that will keep your potential customers on YOUR Web site instead of hitting the dreaded back button.

Brainstorming for content or ideas begins with one simple idea or a concept. Look at the graphic for today’s post. Do you see the red circle in the center of the page with the #1 in the center of it? The word Idea is written under it.

We begin our brainstorming with this one simple idea (or problem, concept, type of Web site, etc.). Working with our idea partner or partners, we expand on that idea. Maybe we add a twist to the original idea, which I did in green to the left of the red circle. From there, you can see how new orange ideas have sprouted out from the new twist.

Looking back at the original idea, we could also create a satellite of brand new ideas, which is designated in red with additional ideas branching off from there to the right.

The blue branch at the bottom of the page indicates ideas built on to the original idea. In some cases, additional ideas can be created based on those ideas.

You can easily see how many ideas you could have with a good energy producing brainstorming session. The beauty of working with a group of people is that everyone comes in to the session from a different path in life, with different experiences and with different strengths. They see the business or problem from a different perspective. Everyone can add something of value.

You can brainstorm by yourself, with one idea partner as we discussed in Day #7, or with a group of people.

Here’s what you can’t have in a creativity or brainstorming session. Naysayers. They will kill your creative energy.

They have their definite place in the business world (grin), but they just aren’t “idea generation” people in the sense of what we need here. They belong in room #2 where they can figure out how to implement the ideas generated by the idea people.

All ideas are good when you brainstorm. Write all of your ideas down . . . every single one of them. Remember that sometimes it just takes a twist of an idea to make it a killer. Or, you may not be able to implement the idea today, but it might work next year or within a 5-year plan. Don’t discount any idea. Be outrageous. If you think it, write it down.

Be CURIOUS. Ask yourself questions about the topic. What does your target audience want to know? What would benefit them? What if . . . ? Why? How to . . . How can . . . ? Are videos or audios appropriate? What would make the audience return over and over again? Ask your customers. If your product was no longer available, what impact would it make on our world? Think about the value your product has to our world. Create content about that value.

In a brainstorming session, tell everyone to uncross their arms. I always laugh when I do so, but body language is important. You want them open for the experience.

Here’s the thing. If you allow yourself to feel this experience, the results can be unbelievably amazing. Tomorrow we’re going to brainstorm together.

Robin

P.S. If you’re just now joining us in our 12-Step Creativity Program, please start at Day #1. It’s very important to start at the beginning.

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