Len Wilson's Blog, page 15

Critics and Creators

In life you can either be a creator or a critic. Being a critic is easier. Most people are critics. But critics don't change the world.

5 Steps to Conquer the Clock and Free Up Some Valuable Time

According to a recent Huffington Post poll, only 13% of adults have sufficient time to accomplish what they want. Of course you don't have enough time. No one does. But you can make the most of what you have with these 5 techniques.

The Truth About Core Values and 6 Steps To De-Clutter Your Message

Most of the time we have too many activities going on, and it's hurting our message. We need to narrow our focus. The best way to do this is to find the core values, and then use them as decision making tools.

What Digital Ministry Means (And How It Relates to Creativity)

Here are five reasons why we should all be digital ministry experts.

3 Ways to Grow the “Yes!” in Your Church

The need for creativity and innovation is immense, and local churches are no different. Robert Schnase spends part of his ministry focused on helping church leaders identify and overcome obstacles to growth. In this second of two interviews about his new book, Just Say Yes! Unleashing People for Ministry, Schnase identifies three ways to foster creativity and innovation. These principles apply to both pastors and anyone with a message to share.

How to Overcome the Lie of Lowered Expectations

Draw a circle. In it, write the words “I stink.” Next, draw a second circle, slightly overlapping the first circle, and in it write the words, “I rock.” In the overlapping space where the circles meet, write the word “creativity.”

The diagram you just made, if you were to actually do this, or even if you do it in your head that’s fine too, captures something about what happens when we lose wonder: the ability to create it and eventually the ability to even recognize it.

This post is about the “I stink” part of the equation.

 

“I Stink” is the lie of lowered expectations.

It’s the first demon we encounter in life. It appears somewhere around the fourth grade and trades on the fear that comes before we’ve ever done anything life-changing with our creative gift.

We could call it failure, though this is unfair to failure, because failure, as a representation of unfulfilled past attempts, is a wonderful teacher. What we often describe as failure isn’t regret for what has already happened but uncertainty for what happens next.

This lie tells us we stink. It offers the false belief that we are not capable of the greatness that burns below our surface, that we can’t actually do the dream that we dream. It causes us to grab the first and lowest piece of fruit we see and say, this is good enough.

It renders the vast majority of inspiration from heaven stillborn with the simple and seductive temptation of lowered expectations, which becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. It has us believe in a lesser story for ourselves.

 

This demon’s object of allure is security.

We fear for tomorrow’s meal so we accept what the lie gives us, even when our acceptance of it sells out the greatness of the Holy Spirit’s descending spark. The lie seems solid and secure. We are led to believe that if we accept this gift, we will allay our fears and satisfy our future.

The devil said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.Luke 4:3

It works when we are starving artists. It hits us when we are weak. It hit Jesus in his weakness, after a long period of paucity, with the temporal satisfaction of sustenance. It tells us we’re eating a 5-course meal when all we’re really getting is crumbs.

 

The way Jesus defeated this demon was with purpose.

Jesus knew, even in the vast open landscape before the whirlwind that was to come, that he had greater passions and purpose and could deal with the short-term trouble of not eating. He dined on the imagination of what was to come.

Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread.”Luke 4:4

The starving artist, the one with only an idea to own, must do the same.

Pursuing creativity means we must dine on the imagination of what may come.

 

This is an excerpt from my book, Think Like a Five Year Old. Learn more here.

About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+

Christ follower. Storyteller. Strategist. Writer. Creative Director @peachtreepres. Tickle monster. Think Like a Five Year Old (Abingdon, 2015).

4 Rules for Getting Healthy Feedback For Your New Creative Work

A little death without mourning, no call, no warning / Baby, a dangerous idea almost makes sense…Jack White, “Love is Blindness”

I had just graduated high school when I met a girl at a camp. Things were analog then, so after we each went home I wrote her lots of letters. After a few, I needed something more meaningful to say than what movie I was about to see or what my friends that she’d never met were doing, so in one of the letters I included a poem.

I’d had some degree of confidence in my technical ability to write. What I did not have was confidence in my ability to speak truth, or to be honest in a way that transcended the ordering of my words. But I was inspired, so I wrote a poem. I don’t remember the name of it now, but I remember that in it I associated my infatuation with a form of color blindness.

I thought it was kind of cool, or at least honest. I made a duplicate on my typewriter to keep, then sent off the original.

Later, I showed someone close to me what I had written. This confidant was dismissive, maybe intentionally, maybe casually, maybe unthinkingly. I don’t know; I didn’t ask why the person didn’t like my poem. I had created something personal and I was vulnerable. I was looking to this person whom I trusted for validation, and the dismissive reaction I received crushed me.

I threw my copy of the poem away. Two months later, the girl met some other guy and wrote me a Dear John letter, which wasn’t poetic.

I no longer wrote for my heart after that. Ten years later I started writing leadership books for pastors. This writing was technical and safe. It sold well, but it wasn’t honest in the same way the poem had been, and in spite of people’s affirmations I didn’t know how to recover the same sense of honesty. For many years, I didn’t even recognize what I’d lost.

A few years ago, I began to find my lost writing voice. It has only been after I have reclaimed my heart as a writer that I have realized what happened long ago:

Seeking creative feedback, no matter how we position it in our own head – “constructive criticism” and such –  is dangerous business.

One of the great ironies of the creative process is that when we create, we want recognition and affirmation for our work, but the need to validate ourselves through other’s opinions is the very thing that almost always does damage, at times devastating, to our creativity.

To be clear, this isn’t permission to create bad art or license to ignore wise counsel. I’m not saying you shouldn’t benefit from feedback. But, to make it a healthy experience for yourself, and avoid what happened to me, I suggest you set some parameters. Don’t let someone’s reaction steal the creative joy that is your birthright. Here are four tips for how to get healthy feedback for your creative work:

 

1. Don’t use feedback to satisfy a need for other people to praise your work.

In my safe period, the closest I came to writing for my heart was my first book, The Wired Church. When it came out, I fell victim to the same problem that I’d had when I was younger: I needed people to tell me it was good. I still remember the day it came out, and bursting with excitement at opening the box from the publisher, and sharing it with people, and the devastation I felt at any tepid responses I got. Perhaps some people could have been more supportive. Regardless, it wasn’t healthy on my part to find validation in someone else’s opinion.

Assess your motivations. The benefit of feedback isn’t comfort. You will never be able to create anything meaningful if you need the opinions of others to tell you if what you have done is true. You must learn to self-validate.

Take away: Feedback isn’t therapy. It’s specific and professional.

 

2. Be selective about the people with whom you share your work.

With whom should you seek feedback? Some might make a distinction between strangers and loved ones, and think that loved ones will be more supportive / better people with whom to share raw work. But loved ones can sometimes be the worst responders.

The obvious problem is that they may be so effusive in their praise that they blind you to the harsh realities of your work’s shortcomings. But what of the opposite? What happens if some don’t care enough to engage with it? Or if they are unable to respond with objective / constructive criticism and instead speak out of a negative shared history? I’m not saying don’t go to loved ones. I am saying, be clear about what you seek, because they may not know or may not be able to provide what you need. It’s not as clear cut as it may seem.

Professional acquaintances may not provide comfort, but they’re more likely to provide detached, unbiased reaction. This is perhaps a better place to go for feedback. At any rate,

Take away: Only share your work with people who will make it better. 

 

3. Set limits for their responses.

Understand the position of your reviewer. Is she a professional or a layperson? A layperson will respond as the public would, which is vital to know but not necessarily related to the making of the art itself.

For example, as a writer, I am most interested in feedback about structure that leads to a whole. Are my thoughts cohesive? Do they build from beginning to end? Have I made assumptions or left anything out? This kind of feedback likely won’t come from a layperson, who is likely to give me copy edits. I have a publisher for this part, and their professional opinion is the one I trust. Instead, I listen to reactions about the work’s ideas as a whole.

Take away: Establish the purpose of your feedback.

 

4. Seek feedback for the craft but not for the spirit.

Lord knows, I have known unteachable creative people. I have been unteachable creative people.

Now, I listen closely to any and all feedback, even the difficult kind, to see what I might learn. Here’s the difference: when you share your work, do it on the level of craft, not spirit. If what you‘ve done needs help, then someone’s opinion can help you, if you let it. Even better, you can almost always find improvements in the criticism of others, if you’re sufficiently teachable.

On the other hand, If I’ve uncovered a raw nugget of real truth in my work, and I know it is true, then other people’s reactions to the honesty of what I have created are irrelevant. What I no longer allow someone to criticize, and you must not let them either, is the spirit of what I’ve created. If it’s a true expression of my heart, I take satisfaction that what I’ve made is art, and I don’t let anyone else take that away from me.

You must be blind to comments others may make out of their own needs. Of course, that raises the stakes for myself too. I’m no longer satisfied with polish. It must have a spirit of truth. Now, everything I write must speak to my heart as well as the head.

Take away: Listen closely to matters of craft, but ignore matters of spirit. 

 

What rules do you have in place for creative feedback?

 

About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+

Christ follower, Writer, Creative Director @peachtreepres, story lover, art advocate, breakfast chef, tickle monster, Think Like a Five Year Old (Abingdon, 2015).

The Power of Yes to Release Unique, Innovative Gifts, Part 1

Creativity is severely inhibited when surrounded by a chorus of “no.” Robert Schnase has released a short, powerful book titled Just Say Yes! Unleashing People for Ministry that identifies some of the ways to overcome “No.” Schnase, a United Methodist Bishop, writes to help local church leaders tap into deep wells of latent congregational creativity. His insights help anyone working in an organization and struggling to be creative. The Bishop and I recently dialogued about his book. Here is the first of two posts on our conversation.

As an introduction, let me say it’s great to dialogue with you about this much needed book. I love your topic because a solid “yes” is the front porch to desperately needed creative thinking and innovation.

Thank you, Len, for inviting me to a post as part of our blog tour to introduce the book, Just Say Yes!  Unleashing People for Ministry. 

My blog readers will be able to watch your introductory video and read the back page copy here , so they’ll have a general overview of the problems the book addresses and the promises it makes. Let’s start with something about your motivation. What did you experience that specifically led you to write this book?

I’ve seen people give up on the church, not because they abandon their faith or disagree with our mission, but because they feel stifled, restrained, shut down, and closed out by archaic and impenetrable systems and by defensive and controlling leaders who are averse to change. People leave to channel their charitable impulses into endeavors that are responsive and effective, where their contributions and ideas shape outcomes. And they search for community in other spiritually sustaining relationships outside the church because they find congregations unreceptive to new ideas, new approaches, or bold initiatives.

The decline of many churches can be recorded as a succession of No votes.Robert Schnase

In contrast, a consistent quality of clergy and lay leaders in healthy churches is an openness to innovation and change. Growing churches manage to say Yes to ministry initiatives that declining churches say No to. In fact, the decline of many churches can be recorded as a succession of No votes through the decades. I want to name this phenomenon and give leaders a vocabulary for describing what they experience in a culture of No.

I think it is Pip Coburn who is credited as saying, people only change when the pain of the current situation exceeds the perceived pain of moving to a new situation. Yet some churches refuse to change in spite of overwhelming evidence of mortality. From your position, what do you say to congregations and to pastors whose “No” goes beyond reason? 

Imagine a church that says No to alcoholics anonymous meeting on their property because “we don’t know who they are,” and No to a basketball league because “they’re not our children anyway,” and No to a divorce recovery ministry because “that’s so negative,” and No to forming a hands-on mission team because “we’d have to amend the budget by $1400.” A consistent pattern of No reduces ministry, avoids human need, and narrows engagement. People begin to expect the church to say No, and so they stop trying.

And yet, even in the most intransigent churches, people have ideas, passions, callings, and spiritual yearnings. These are the people Just Say Yes was written for. How do we foster an autonomy and self-determination that gives them the permission and freedom to initiate ministries without winning countless votes from church leaders who aren’t interested in their ideas? The freshest energy may come from newcomers or people at the margins of the congregations who have not been drawn into the negativity and complacency.

Imaginative pastors and lay leaders must feed the new while starving the old.Robert Schnase

Imaginative pastors and lay leaders must feed the new while starving the old. New people are the greatest collaborators and co-conspirators for change. If we can’t get the congregation unstuck, we can at least give permission and freedom to those at the edges to start ministries and experiment with new groups, perhaps without pushing every idea through the formal structures for approval.

To address the resistance of formal leaders unwilling to change, one strategy is to shift the conversation. Stop asking them to approve new ministries, implying their support and agreement. Instead, begin to ask if they would merely withhold their disapproval. Give others a chance. If you can’t say Yes, at least refrain from saying No. Unleash people for ministry.

I love this quote from your book:

Missional churches shift a “no” culture to a culture that helps people cultivate their calling and creativity.” Let’s talk about the issue of leadership and control. You write that “a subtle clergy-centered attitude provides unseen downward pressures on creativity” and that “pastors deaden the impulse of their most creative people by needing to be at the center of everything.” 

These ideas suggest a need to develop a priesthood of all believers, not a priest class, per se. Later, however, you reference Jim Collins on the diffused nature of authority in a congregation, where the lack of a single voice inhibits ideas. I agree with both of these statements on their own, yet they seem contradictory. How do you reconcile them, and how do you teach the leaders in your care to handle their influence?

Bishop Robert Schnase, Author of Just Say Yes!

I’m not so sure these are entirely contradictory ideas. The warning about pastors exerting too much control draws attention to the way a leader can limit organizational innovation and change by the need to vet and influence every decision. If everything requires the approval of the pastor, then a defensive, territorial, or anxious pastor restrains innovation and slows change.

On the other hand, Jim Collins’s observations about the diffused nature of authority in non-profits is not a call for embedding more authority in a single leader.  He doesn’t suggest that the lack of concentrated executive authority inhibits ideas. Widely dispersed authority only inhibits creativity if leaders let the diffused nature of the organization contribute to unclear outcomes, convoluted systems, and a confused sense of purpose. Collins reminds us that the path to greatness in non-profits is not to become “more like a business.” Most businesses, he argues, are mediocre.

Rather, leaders of non-profits who lack executive authority must use other means to shape culture and lead change. For instance, pastors and key laypersons do have the authority to convene. They can call together whomever they want to work on issues or generate ideas.  They also enjoy the authority to select leadership and to set the agenda and to develop coalitions of passionate people to initiate ministries. And creative leaders provide a buffer that protects new voices and rewards experimentation. They also have the power to establish vision and adopt a common language. Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations was an attempt to demonstrate how a common language can change church culture.

I think pastors (as well as bishops and other church leaders) have plenty of structural authority. At issue is how they lead organizations and mobilize people toward the mission of the church.  Top down, hierarchical, centralized structural authority is risky and can lead to great harm, and it’s not nearly as affective as building consensus around a few essential points of focus and practice. Persuasion, appeal to common values, humility, prayer, personal example, preaching, teaching, staff development—these are a few of the many tools available to mobilize people toward the mission without demanding more control.

You write, “the best leaders dance on the edge of their authority. They meet enough of the existing expectations to operate with authority and stay connected with the community while also following God’s call to move beyond what is expected.” Love this quote. It suggests that we need more of what some have called “number ones”, or visionary types, and less “number twos,” or manager / administrators. Large churches, if staffed correctly, can attempt to have both. Small churches need it all in one person, which seems impossible. How do you handle this in your role as an overseer of many churches?

I also love “dancing on the edge of our authority,” a concept borrowed from Marty Linsky. If we only operate within the authority given us and according to the expectations of the organization, we will never lead the change that is necessary. The community will fail to adapt to the changing environment and will slowly die.  Complacency and stagnation wins. We have to exceed our authority in order to lead the organization toward places it will never ask us to go. That’s vision.

On the other hand, if we don’t give proper attention to the existing expectations and fail to do the work the organization has authorized us to do, we’ll be rejected. We must meet the fundamental expectations so that we don’t lose trust, disconnect, and become leaders without followers. Managing expectations involves maintaining and improving existing systems, and this is important work. Leaders tend to be rewarded for caring for the organization and working for “what is” rather than for stimulating change and focusing on “what is not yet.”

“Dancing on the edge of our authority” involves meeting enough of the existing expectations to stay connected and to foster trust while also pushing the organization to boldly take initiatives that fulfill the mission.

While pastors may have a greater gift for one aspect of leadership than another, leading requires us to offer both vision and competent administration. In United Methodism, we speak of a ministry of both word and order, of discerning and proclaiming the will of God while also ordering the life of the community for ministry.  Vision means we use our spiritual discernment so that we lead the church to do the right things. Administration means we pour our best into doing things right. Both require creativity, and an attention to effectiveness. Pastors have to nurture the self-awareness to see how their own leadership style requires balance. A healthy balancing of vision and administration can be achieved through staffing, deeper collaboration with the ministry of laypersons, and through the use of teams, mentors, and the counsel of colleagues.

The rest of this conversation will appear in a second post, coming soon.

To learn more about and buy Robert Schnase’s book, click here.

 

About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+

Christ follower, Writer, Creative Director @peachtreepres, story lover, art advocate, breakfast chef, tickle monster, Think Like a Five Year Old (Abingdon, 2015).

Quit Punting in Football, at Work and in Your Creative Life

Kevin Kelley never punts. He doesn’t believe in it. Instead, he believes the statistics that say going for it on fourth down gives football teams a better chance of winning games. Kelley became head coach of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2003. In 2005, his teams quit punting. They were already a championship team. In the nine years since he quit punting, they have gone 102-18-1 and won two state titles.

Kelley says, “I saw a fifteen minute video of a Harvard professor. He had analyzed 2000 football games over a three-year period. He had come to the conclusion that you should never punt.” (It’s actually a study by a University of California, Berkeley professor.)

What does Coach Kelley’s philosophy teach us?

 

When faced with make or break situations, most of us punt.

Here’s a quick football lesson for non-fans: In football, a team has four plays, or downs, to advance the ball at least ten yards down the field. If they succeed, the team gets a new set of four plays, starting from the ball’s location on the most recent successful play, which is called a first down conversion. If the team fails on their fourth play, the other team takes over at the ball’s spot.

There’s a deeply held conventional wisdom in the game of football that a failed fourth down play is a good way to lose the game – and get fired, if you’re the coach. So, after three downs, if the team hasn’t gained the requisite ten yards, most coaches will opt to use their fourth down to punt, or kick the ball all the way to the other end of the field, which forces the opposing team to travel a much longer distance back across the field to score points.

Kelley says that’s poppycock, and that you should use every try you get to succeed. Now, professional football coaches and executives are taking notice.

 

Punting is deeply ingrained as the “safe” choice.

Of course, most coaches would never take that chance, particularly in the high stakes world of collegiate and professional football.

Going for it is the safer decision far more often than most people, and most coaches, think.Brian Burke

If going for it on fourth down instead of punting makes so much sense, why don’t other football coaches quit punting? Kelley believes that it is simply because of peer pressure – or conventional wisdom. Everyone else punts on fourth down. Punting is deeply ingrained in the sport of football, with coaches and fans alike. He once defied his own logic and punted, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation. Kelley is bucking the conventional wisdom.

If the statistics say that going for it is more valuable, then why don’t more coaches do it?

 

Why don’t people go for it more often?

Statistician Brian Burke offers three theories on why coaches don’t go for it more often:

1. It’s outdated and uninformed thinking. In the old days of football, much lower final scores decided games. Since teams didn’t score often, punting nearly guaranteed the opponent couldn’t march the field and score on their next possession. This is called “playing field position.”

2. Decision-makers are more worried about job security that winning. A failed fourth down conversion attempt is on the coach, but a punt indicts the players on the field.

3. It’s an example of Prospect Theory. Prospect Theory is an economic concept that people tend to fear losses disproportionately more than they value equivalent gains.

Read #3 again for good measure. We fear loss more than we value gain. All three theories, but especially #3, tell us something about the loss of creativity.

Risk is a prerequisite for creativity. No risk, no magic.

 

Most of us quit taking risks.

We tend to accept the conventional wisdom. We side with protection. We keep an eye on fear. Even as adults, we’re still victims of the Fourth Grade Slump. We’re ignorant of new thinking, We fear judgment. We give disproportionate weight to loss over gain.

Maybe the concept of never punting is a bit extreme, and the analogy unrealistic to a workday environment.

But what would it look like if we were to act like Coach Kelley, and not withhold resources? What if we were to just go for it more often?

 

If you have something great, don’t hang on to it.

I used to hold on to creative ideas. In writing, I’d have an illustration, and I would have decided that it was brilliant, so I’d hold on to it, not wanting to waste it on something trivial.

On more than one occasion, I killed a good idea this way by missing its window of opportunity. In one case I saw a published book on the bookstore shelf whose central premise (the idea of a single “Big Idea” to drive programming) mocked my similar, undeployed idea.

Now, when I have a good idea, I use it, and not worry about using it wrong. I go for it, and it’s helped me to be more creative.

So quit punting. If you have a hunch, just go for it.

 

About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+

Christ follower, Writer, Creative Director @peachtreepres, story lover, art advocate, breakfast chef, tickle monster, Think Like a Five Year Old (Abingdon, 2015).

19 Questions to Kickstart a More Creative Life

19 Questions to Kickstart a More Creative Life

People like to talk about changing the world. Jesus makes the crazy promise that we actually can change the world. But the bar to do it is high. We need to love, fully, with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength. These four creative expressions form the basis for our work in the world. Your job is to figure out what you love, and how to fully love it.

Here are 19 questions to help you figure out the wonder of a more creative life.

Connector.1. What Do I Really Love?

The first big step is to love something. I mean really love it, to the exclusion of many other things you might do with your life. You know you love something when you don’t care how you look. You’re not detached or ironic about it. Crazy enthusiasm is cool, and always has been. Care deeply about something, and let other people know it. If it's not clear, don't worry. Love grows with practice. That's what the other questions are for.

Heart: Find The Un-PeaceConnector.2. What is my source of un-peace?

You cannot sustain yourself doing something for which you have no passion. And when I say passion I mean the thing that you can't shake. Distractions don’t count. Your know it's your source of un-peace because it doesn’t satisfy you; it breaks your heart. It keeps you up at night.

Connector.3. What did I love to do as a child?

Perhaps you don’t want to be a fireman anymore, but the impulse matters. If you wanted to be a fireman, why? Perhaps you love a thrill, or being a hero, or helping people. Brainstorm your unspoken motivations. Write down 10 things you found fun or intriguing about your childhood dream job.

Connector.4. What do I think about all the time?

In your current work, what parts of the job light you up? What parts shut you down? Write down 5 things that energizes you about your daily work and 5 things that steal your energy.

Connector.5. What do I envy?

Envy can be an ugly emotion, but it’s also instructive. Who do you pay attention to? The challenge is to separate an unhealthy envy for another’s fame and fortune with a healthy indicator for someone else’s passions and work life.

Connector.6. What nagging problem has found its way back into my life repeatedly?

If you keep saying, somebody oughta fix that problem, then perhaps that somebody is you.

Get a Free PDF Checklist of These 19 Questions and Share with Your Team Today



















Mind: Explore Divergent ThinkingConnector.7. In what area do I reject the conventional wisdom?

This kind of thinking may be difficult to find in the recesses of our convergence organized minds. Often, what if questions aren’t world changing. They’re just unwilling to accept the regular way of thinking about something.

Connector.8. What are my top two fields of expertise and interest?

All human creativity is ex materia - it doesn’t happen out of the blue, but through new combinations of existing ideas. A lot of people have contributed to each of your fields of interest. But what lies unnoticed in between?

Connector.9. What are the top two most common practices in my daily life?

You may think you’re doing something while you wait for your big break, such as raising a child. But what if your creative inspiration isn’t separate from but informed by your day to day life?

Connector.10. In what areas of my life do I need to fill a gap in my knowledge?

Creativity requires regular input. Name an area of interest where some new reading could benefit you.

Connector.11. What are my biggest handicaps?

Everybody has them. You know yours. Perhaps it’s the poor start you got on your financial life, or having to overcoming mediocre schools and education opportunities. It may be a physical limitation or a sickness. It may be having to care for multiple children and/or an aging parent. But the very thing that limits you could be the source of your greatness. Like the way in which David’s mastery of a slingshot overcame his inability to fight a giant soldier, look for unique ways your handicap positions you to be good at what you do.

Soul: Commit to Your CraftConnector.12. How can I improve my ability to capture raw ideas as they come?

If there’s a single most important, critical step of the process, this is it. You MUST get down the new idea down when it happens, even if you have no idea what it means or how to use it. You cannot say, oh, that’s good, I’ll write it down later. You must stop in the middle of whatever you’re doing and capture the thought.

Connector.13. What are five new ideas for today?

Create daily space to write down 5 new ideas, every day. Keep them in a single place like a journal. Index them for later reference. This may seem impractical but I used to struggle for good blog post ideas; now I have literally hundreds of unfinished posts.

Connector.14. How can I add to my body of work today?

Inspiration is like mining raw ore; the routine is the refining process. I don’t often strike a new vein during my daily writing time. Sometimes it happens and sometimes not. But I always have plenty to work on because I have been diligent with step 12. If I capture an idea when it hits then I always have plenty to mold and shape when time frees up.

Strength: Make a PlanConnector.15. What is the name of my new product / service / program?

What’s a title for your big idea? Don’t blow this off; language determines direction. I write at least 10 new titles for every article I write, and spend months on a book title.

Connector.16. Who am I making this idea for?

The target audience is not everyone, which is an illusion. Be specific.

Connector.17. What is the problem I intend to help a person solve?

There are two types of needs. The first is the market need, which is an omission in the current product / service / literature that your idea will fill. The second is the felt need, which is a feeling that the idea will satisfy.

Connector.18. What is the core promise my idea makes for others?

What task or job to you intend to help people solve? What job do they have to do that you want to help them complete? It’s easy to get wrapped up in our ideas, but people’s needs are immediate and tactical. Where are people stuck and how can you help them get unstuck?

Connector.19. What will make people care enough to choose my idea over another?

Name up to three central features or components of your idea, three benefits it offers to the one who uses it, and three things you hope the user will become or achieve with your idea.

The catch is, it’s hard to do this alone. For a different perspective, find someone to go over these questions with, and see what they tell you.

To share this list with others, download a free PDF version of this list.

This list is an adaptation from my Study Guide for my book, Think Like a Five Year Old.

About the AuthorLen Wilson Facebook Twitter Google+

Christ follower, Writer, Creative Director @peachtreepres, story lover, art advocate, breakfast chef, tickle monster, Think Like a Five Year Old (Abingdon, 2015).