Our unconscious mind are the things that burp these ideas up to the surface. And yes, even you have one of those in your brain.
It’s the unexplainable genius spot in your head where amazing ideas come from. It’s working beneath the surface all the time. It gives us our instincts, our hunches. Robots don’t think this way, but we do. They only have the logical side to work with.
Creative types know this very well
It’s where the ideas come from. Ideas for business, paintings, new products, new songs, new advertising campaigns, new buildings, new solutions to old problems…they jump into your mind at any time. It can’t be predicted. They are like babies…when it’s their time, they come…ready or not. When teams are stalled out and no one can figure out what to do next, this is the place where leaders go. Here’s where they solutions that no one else thought of. The problem gets solved and the team gets moving again.
The solution for DNA came like this.
One of the scientists who had been trying to unravel the mystery of how these compounded are formed, the structure, was driving along the highway. Convertible top down, listening to the radio, driving along the coast, he was relaxing and enjoying the view. Then BANG! Out of nowhere the long awaited answer came. It just jumped into his mind. He saw it clear as day. It’s surprising he didn’t drive off the cliff, distracted. It was a HELIX! That was the structure! Now it all made sense.
That doesn’t surprise us – when it happens to others.
He worked on it for years. He obsessed over it. Of course the inspiration finally came. It makes sense. What doesn’t make sense to us is when it happens to us. Who are we to get a great idea? Well, you may be as likely to get a great idea as anyone. It’s where most of the great inventions and breakthroughs come from.
Here’s what starts the ball rolling.
You run across something in life where you say…there’s got to be a better way. You wish you had a special tool to do a special job. You start wondering about a better way to do something. Your mind wanders, thinking about it, considering the possibilities. And your subconscious mind starts to work. There are probably a lot of people who have wondered about the same thing. There aren’t any guarantees, but you may be the one who comes up with the solution!
When it comes, pay attention!
Paul McCartney of the Beatles has written thousands of songs. What was his number one? Yesterday. How did He get it? In his sleep.
He dreamed the melody completely in his sleep, waking up he ran to the piano to play it before he forgot it.
That’s what you do when inspiration comes.
It doesn’t matter if you’re driving, sleeping, watching a movie, out with friends at dinner. Stop what you are doing and write it down! It may only pop up once! Don’t take a chance. Don’t question it. Just accept it and do what you can with it. I remember once hearing a country songwriter who had written two legendary all time hits tell the story of how he did it. It seems they both came to him as he was on his way to an appointment. He pulled the car over, stopped and wrote them down. In a 30 year career, they were his only real hits. But they were enough.
