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