So Many Great Ideas!

Today, I was flipping through a notebook that I write a variety of ideas and tips I receive from books, magazines, website articles, seminars, meetings at my local Small Business Administration and interactions with friends. I was surprised to find so many ideas I wrote down and completely forgot. This is a perfect reason why someone like myself needs to write down ideas AS SOON AS INSPIRATION HITS! (Hence the reason I always have a pen or three in my pocket.)

Some of the methods I use to figure out which ideas are worth pursuing include:

1. Write down your idea in a journal or notebook! I personally like to make sure I include the date I wrote the idea and where the inspiration came from. It gives me a personal insight on what fuels my creativity and how important the idea is to me, based on how long I have been procrastinating to take action.

2. Compare the idea to your goals in life. I like to review each idea I have and compare them with the goals that are most important to me in my personal life. There is only so much time, money, and resources that you can dedicate to so many goals, desires, and obligations. Everything needs its own time and commitment to be accomplished, i.e. exercising, family, education, work, investing, hobbies, etc. Therefore, I recommend waiting at least a few days after you have written down your goal and then going back to determine if it still makes sense and coincides with your personal aspirations in life.

3. Get feedback! Sometimes, if I spend enough time focusing on a creative project (i.e. designing a new board game or writing a book), I might lose perspective on what may or may not be well received by the public. It is absolutely critical (if you are trying to sell a product) to have a group of people that can give you honest and brutal feedback about your ideas and projects. This is something I ALWAYS emphasize to those I trust and value for their opinions. If you recall from my previous blogs, I have also received feedback from professional toy brokers/agents, board game groups on Meetup.com, and from touring my games in local libraries. (See below for the list of questions I asked people to rate from 1 to 10.) Don't forget to say "thank you" in your own way to those that took the time to evaluate your work.

4. Re-evaluate, if necessary. Once I receive honest and brutal feedback, I will take it all into consideration, then keep what I want and throw away the rest.

5. Repeat steps 1 through 4 until you are thrilled with your results!

This has been a major help to myself over the past couple of years and I hope this is helpful for you and your goals.

Mahalo (thank you) for reading my blog. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Warm Regards,
~Luis
www.GlobalQuestGame.com

Welcome to L.A.!

Aloha, My Dear Readers, (Whomever and wherever you may be!)


To my American friends, I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! I heard that fireworks shows were cancelled back home in Florida due to the rain. If it makes you feel better, fireworks are against the law where I live because the climate is so dry, the mountain in our back yard might catch on fire. You laugh, but that is exactly what happened about eight months ago! My roommates described it as something straight out of Lord of the Rings. (Movie geeks. You gotta love them!)


It has been about three weeks since I moved to Los Angeles (already?!?!) and I have been hitting the pavement virtually nonstop since I have arrived, searching for employment. On one hand, I feel that I was born to be here because there is so much emphasis in the arts and just about anything else you like to do here. On the other hand, I have never seen so many out-of-work or under-employed artists in my life! LOL!


I contacted an old neighbor of mine from Boca Raton, Florida who is producing his own film in L.A. right now. I told him that I just applied to be a crew member for about 22 featured films shooting within the next few months. He says, "Great! Now you only have about 400 more to go!" Wow, what am I getting myself into?


Since I have arrived here, my only gigs have included being a paid audience member for the T.V. shows "Minute to Win It" and "Don't Forget That Lyric." Tia Carrere was a celebrity guest star, playing for charity on "Don't Forget the Lyric." I thought it was hilarious that a Grammy winner and former rocker on "Wayne's World" got every song wrong! They actually had to stop taping to help her with the first couple of songs. I admit, I probably would have failed horribly on that show as well. If I was in her place, the directors of the show would probably receive text messages from the audience in all CAPS reading, "KICK HIM OFF THE STAGE!!!"


I also got to be a part of the (un-paid) audience for the Jay Leno show, where Queen Latifa was a guest star. In my opinion, she is such a classy, fun, and wonderful woman and role-model (unlike the incredible vane reality show star from "Jersey Shore" who also appeared that night and will remain nameless).


I absolutely love it here in Los Angeles. However, being without a source of income is becoming nerve-wrecking. I'm am beginning to rapidly understand all the stories I've read about people volunteering themselves for medical experimentation, plasma blood donations, and other means of supplemental income. The military is starting to look very tempting right about now. Welcome to L.A.!


On a productive note, I bought a great book for writers, called, "Write the Perfect Proposal: 10 That Sold and Why" by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman. After reading some very useful tips, I changed my book title (3 times) and finally completed a pretty darn good first draft book proposal. I feel confident to start sending query letters to literary agents for my first nonfiction book. Today, I think I may also have found the perfect agent for me. Wish me luck!


Mahalo! (Thanks!)


Luis
www.GlobalQuestGame.com