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I carry my phone with me everywhere. This small device has become my augmented self, a second brain and an always-on connection with the world.
My phone is my Metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t realized that the Metaverse is already here and Apple has been working on it since 2007.
We are already living in a virtual world and have augmented reality all around us. The Metaverse sits in your pocket without you having to wear a 3-pound headset.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not wearing big ugly expensive goggles as that would mess up my hair. But online gamers either don’t have hair or don’t care.
I am curious to see how Zuckerberg’s folly turns out as he spends a staggering $15 billion a year building out his imagined Zucky Metaverse chasing a rainbow.
Sorry about the rant and…back to my smartphone.
It is not just for checking my Facebook posts, for random scrolling of Instagram or watching the latest TikTok videos.
My phone’s vital role is as my idea capture machine. I have lost a few ideas at times because I didn’t have it handy.
As I use my iPhone, the idea capture app I use is not complicated. It’s just the minimalist “Notes” app that is ready to go, sitting on my screen. It is much better than a notepad and pencil.
Why?
Because I can send it straight to my email and it is searchable.
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Where do our mind’s thoughts come from?
That question is confusing people much smarter than me that work in a research lab, wear white coats and have a PhD.
I am not quite sure of my mind’s thought source but all I know is that sometimes it gets rather noisy in there. And I could often do with a mute button. Because that babble is usually not useful.
Let me mention a few of those unhelpful thoughts.
Worrying about the past, fearing the future or thinking about conversations that really don’t matter. None of that is useful.
My approach
I have had a lot of good ideas mixed up in a tirade of meaningless thoughts over the years and most are not worth saving. In fact, they are mostly folly. Here is my toolbox to make the good ideas rise to the top.
- Foster inspiration. Ideas don’t come out of a vacuum. You need inspiration and information. Reading, listening to podcast guests, interviewing people (I do that every week on my Podcast) and watching a good TedTalk.
- Be curious. Curiosity can be fostered and nurtured. This can be as simple as asking an internal “Why” as a default question for almost everything. But I wouldn’t recommend doing that too much with your “significant other”!
- Observe problems and write them down and see if your mind can come up with a solution.
- Write it out. Sit down and write about it and research the idea topic area. My blog posts over the years have been where I go to research, learn and nurture ideas. Getting an idea out of your mind and onto figurative paper allows you to make sense of the idea and see if it makes sense in the light of day. This is where it starts to take form.
The last and final test is when you make an idea useful by giving it form and sharing it and taking it for a test drive.
No guarantees of success
There are no guarantees of success and this includes ideas that turn into art, products or services.
Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan till they get hit in the face”.
Most ideas and plans don’t work out in the reality of the market. Many ideas don’t handle the furnace of reality.
This could be your idea for starting a business or launching a low-risk side hustle.
Starting and launching your idea could involve the painful experience of “getting hit in the face”.
So how do you produce good ideas?
First, let me clarify what a good idea is. It has utility, is useful and it works. If you achieve that then the world claps.
A bad idea is when you are ignored and hear nothing.
In 1965 James Webb Young published a short 47-page book called “ A Technique for Producing Ideas”. In it, he reveals his 5 step process for producing and nurturing ideas with the intention to help others go from an idea to something that is useful. An idea acted on.
He touches on how most good ideas are often a new combination of old ideas.
His 5-step process at a glance:
- The gathering of the raw materials. This includes information on an immediate problem and also just collecting general knowledge.
- Working these materials intensely over in your mind. Ask questions and interrogate the idea consciously.
- The incubation stage. This is where you let the idea go and let the subconscious get to work.
- The Eureka moment. Where the idea takes full form. This is optimized by writing it out (to get more clarity) and planning the final step.
- Idea action: The final step. The shaping and polishing of the idea are finally achieved by acting on it. That is where an idea becomes useful. This is the Mike Tyson moment. The idea meets reality.
Ideas are plentiful and action is scarce. Don’t let fear stop you from acting.
How to move an idea to action with an online side hustle
There is a low-risk way to start. It’s called Side Hustle Strategies.
Start an “Online Side Hustle” and get the inspiration, information and resources to kickstart your idea. The best part? You can get started for free with a risk-free one-month trial.
If you sign up today, you’ll also get a bonus free e-book “The 5 Essential Steps To Start a Successful Online Side Hustle” when you register.
In this short 24-page e-book, you’ll discover my signature ‘Freedom Code Framework’, outlining the actionable steps you can use to start implementing your dream.
Start your Freedom journey to escape the 9–5 and the daily commute.
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