WEBVTT - Let your ideas ripen

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to let your ideas ripen. Sometimes ideas are

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<v Speaker 1>ready right now, but sometimes they need to wait for

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<v Speaker 1>a better time. It might be wise to keep watch

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<v Speaker 1>on those ripening ideas so you can revisit them when

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<v Speaker 1>the time is right. Today's tip, like some others this week,

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<v Speaker 1>comes from Scott H. Young's new book, Get Better at Anything.

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<v Speaker 1>This book shares strategies for how people actually learn and improve.

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<v Speaker 1>Young notes that while some ideas are immediately usable, others

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<v Speaker 1>are missing key components. One inventor may be stuck on

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<v Speaker 1>a technical problem for which there is no current solution.

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<v Speaker 1>A novelist might have a great idea for a character,

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<v Speaker 1>but no equally compelling plot to match the character with

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<v Speaker 1>What does one do with all of this? Young writes

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<v Speaker 1>that while the celebrated image of creative genius often focuses

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<v Speaker 1>on persistence through difficult projects, it's equally the case that

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<v Speaker 1>successful creatives manage to avoid problems that are not ripe

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<v Speaker 1>for discovery. Now. Of course, the real breakthrough ideas often

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<v Speaker 1>happen when something new develops and suddenly the time is right.

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<v Speaker 1>Thomas Edison, for instance, was often pursuing multiple invention projects simultaneously.

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<v Speaker 1>That way, he was able to switch back and forth

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<v Speaker 1>when he was stumped on one. He was also able

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<v Speaker 1>to take advantage of chance discoveries if a new possibility

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<v Speaker 1>turned up that shed light on something that was previously obscure.

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<v Speaker 1>Young notes that many authors maintain extensive notes on potential stories,

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<v Speaker 1>waiting until a sufficient number of pieces have assembled in

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<v Speaker 1>the background before doggedly pursuing the work. While it may

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<v Speaker 1>be impossible to anticipate creative solutions, it is often possible

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<v Speaker 1>to see how large the gaps are that separate the

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<v Speaker 1>current reservoir of knowledge and what would be needed for

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<v Speaker 1>a solution. I like this idea of having a file

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<v Speaker 1>of ideas that are just ripening. There are all kinds

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<v Speaker 1>of fields where things are great ideas, they just aren't

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<v Speaker 1>great ideas. Write this particular minute. That brilliant marketing idea

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<v Speaker 1>won't sell anything your company is currently selling, but it

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<v Speaker 1>will be perfect for a product that will be launched

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<v Speaker 1>two years from now. You don't know what that product is,

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<v Speaker 1>but you file away that idea and you are ready

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<v Speaker 1>to suggest it at the perfect time. Years ago, I

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<v Speaker 1>wrote a National Novel Writing Month novel about a few

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<v Speaker 1>characters named Juliet, Riley, and Skip who had descended on

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<v Speaker 1>a particular location on the Jersey Shore. The story was terrible,

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<v Speaker 1>but I saved the manuscript. And then when my publisher

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<v Speaker 1>asked me to pitch a time management fable idea, Juliet, Riley,

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<v Speaker 1>Skip and their location got dug back out of the

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<v Speaker 1>ripening file and matched with a new plot that I

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<v Speaker 1>came up with. Juliette's School of Possibilities almost wrote itself

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<v Speaker 1>at that point, So keep coming up with lots of ideas.

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<v Speaker 1>Don't delete or dismiss them just because you can't see

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<v Speaker 1>what they will be good for now. The future will

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<v Speaker 1>bring all sorts of interesting possibilities. When you let ideas ripen,

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<v Speaker 1>you will probably be ready. In the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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<v Speaker 1>the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to

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