WEBVTT - Second Cup: How to get more ideas

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<v Speaker 1>Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to get new ideas. Everyone

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<v Speaker 1>likes to talk about innovation as this big, fancy concept,

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<v Speaker 1>but if you think about it, innovation just means coming

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<v Speaker 1>up with new ideas, preferably lots of new ideas. Because

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<v Speaker 1>creativity turns out to be a numbers game. Some stuff

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<v Speaker 1>will work and some stuff won't, so we've got to

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<v Speaker 1>throw a lot of stuff at the wall to see

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<v Speaker 1>what sticks. But very few people build much thinking time

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<v Speaker 1>into their lives. Instead, most of us spend our days

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<v Speaker 1>responding to emails, tramping to status meetings, and leaving precious

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<v Speaker 1>little time open. Then we wonder why our brains feel

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<v Speaker 1>so fried. Unfortunately, the cycle of reactivity is incredibly counterproductive.

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<v Speaker 1>By responding to everything immediately, we don't carve out the

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<v Speaker 1>space to come up with the ideas that make people

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<v Speaker 1>want to email us in the first place. Some people

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<v Speaker 1>might be able to go off into a it in

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<v Speaker 1>the woods for months at a time, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>most of us need to come up with more realistic

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<v Speaker 1>ways to build strategic thinking into our lives. Fortunately, there

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<v Speaker 1>are simple steps we can take to get our brains

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<v Speaker 1>into churning mode quickly. In my time management fable Juliette

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<v Speaker 1>School of Possibilities, Riley, the heroine comes up with her

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<v Speaker 1>career saving idea while she is biking on the boardwalk.

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<v Speaker 1>She's so busy, but she's reluctantly pulled herself away from

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<v Speaker 1>her inbox. Then, almost by magic, she figures out an

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<v Speaker 1>answer that had eluded her before. That scene is fiction,

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<v Speaker 1>but I wrote it because it feels so true to life.

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<v Speaker 1>How many of us get our best ideas while driving,

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<v Speaker 1>or in the shower, or while hiking or biking somewhere.

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<v Speaker 1>I can sit at my desk and feel like I'm

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<v Speaker 1>banging my head against the wall for hours, But then

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<v Speaker 1>I get up and go run. I don't listen to music.

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<v Speaker 1>I just let my mind go, and I almost can't

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<v Speaker 1>stop the ideas from coming. Indeed, I figured out a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of the major points for Juliet's School of Possibilities

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<v Speaker 1>while I was running around my neighborhood. The key is

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<v Speaker 1>creating space in our lives. When we aren't in reactive mode,

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<v Speaker 1>our minds are free to wander. Then our brains prove

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<v Speaker 1>pretty smart. They wander into some amazing places. So figure

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<v Speaker 1>out how you might build in some brain breaks into

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<v Speaker 1>your life today. Maybe after you're done listening to this podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't listen to anything else in the car. In

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<v Speaker 1>the silence, you let your thoughts go where they will.

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<v Speaker 1>Or when you find yourself stumped at work, you get

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<v Speaker 1>up from your desk and go walk outside. I'd say

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<v Speaker 1>don't bring your phone but you might need it to

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<v Speaker 1>send notes to yourself about all the great ideas I

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<v Speaker 1>promise you're going to get. And here's the thing. Our

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<v Speaker 1>brains are creatures of habit, like anything else. If you

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<v Speaker 1>go into each bike ride or shower thinking I get

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<v Speaker 1>my best ideas here, then your brain will start doing

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<v Speaker 1>what it knows to do, and soon you'll find yourself

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<v Speaker 1>feeling very innovative, or at least cleaner and in better shape.

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<v Speaker 1>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 1>here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four then Breakfast Pod. You

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<v Speaker 1>can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast

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<v Speaker 1>at iHeartMedia dot Com that before breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch