You've probably heard the myth that innovation is a sudden, out-of-nowhere flash of insight. We often hear about how an inventor or innovator had a "aha!" moment or a "light bulb" moment, and to some extent, this is true. Einstein did have bright ideas while shaving in the morning. But he was working on the problems he knew how to solve. He didn't come up with ideas for new kitchen gadgets or movie plots out of the blue.
In other words, Einstein's new ideas, no matter how "sudden" they seemed at first, came from his work in the past and the present. It's like a singer who practises for 10 years and then becomes famous "overnight." People who are creative and innovative only have "sudden" new ideas when they have been working and thinking in certain ways for a long time. If you want to be a person who thinks of new ways to do things, why not start doing these things?
"Habits of the mind lead to innovation."
Problems can also be chances. The word "problem" may make you think of something bad, like a hassle or stress, but any problem can lead to an idea that makes our lives better. Because people didn't know the time, they made clocks small enough to wear on their wrists. Sanitary sewer systems keep people from getting sick. Start seeing every problem as an opportunity. Even a problem as simple as not having enough space to store things could lead to a new idea. You might just put down a plywood floor in the attic, but you could come up with a new way to store things outside.
Innovation starts with knowing what's important. A door to an innovator doesn't need to be made of metal, wood, or glass. A way to get in and a way to keep people out are important parts. If you start with these, you'll soon be thinking of new ways to make a door. You could make a door that opens when you speak (helpful when your hands are full) or one that closes and locks when someone else comes close. Think about the most important parts of things.
Innovation is helped by attitude. Concept-combination is a creative way to solve problems that involves putting together two ideas to see what new idea or product comes out of it. The important thing is that you think a new idea will be useful. If you start with that idea, your mind will work hard to come up with something. Even though a shoe and a CD have nothing in common, it only took a minute to think of a CD player with headphones that only plays the music right if a jogger keeps up the right pace. If you think there's something there, you'll usually find it.
Playfulness leads to new ideas. A creative mind is a playful mind, and while having a high IQ doesn't mean you're creative, if you combine that with being playful, you get an Einstein. Remember that he came up with his theory of relativity by imagining himself riding on a beam of light. Why not start messing around with ideas and things in your head and around you? It should be fun to be creative.
