Where do brilliant ideas come from

I am certain that you have heard how great ideas emerge. It can be the apple falling on Newton’s head, August Kekule ring structure which came to him in his dream or the eureka moment which Archimedes had while jumping in the bath tub.

People love to believe epiphany moments really happen. It makes life a lot easier for them because this means you can’t do anything about it. It’s all about the luck of having a divine moment of inspiration. You sure love to believe that this is how things are because it offers you the perfect excuse.

The truth is that there is no such moment of revelation. It’s all about the knowledge you have, the information you own, all the things you have tried and failed at, all the mistakes you have learned from. What really matters is what you have done until now because all ideas come from our ability to make new connections based on the information we already have.

So go out there, try, fail, learn and keep building your moment of inspiration.

Lead or follow

Leadership is the new best thing. Big companies are always searching for leaders, political parties are constantly trying to create them, each industry needs new leaders in order to evolve and most of you would like to be one.

What makes leaders so highly appreciated and sought after is their ability to make things move. They offer a direction, a sense of purpose, a common goal which brings people together and makes them move towards achieving it.

Then what’s the big secret behind becoming a leader? The truth is that there is no secret. To become a leader you need one thing and one thing only. A follower. Once you got your first follower you become a leader.

Now that you know how leaders are made, go become one or go create one. Do any of the two but just don’t stay idle.

Fear of deadlines

Work, no matter how hard, boring or challenging, would be just work if it wasn’t for deadlines. When deadlines come into play, work changes and becomes a commitment. A commitment to deliver your part, an idea, a product.

Delivering scares you. You have no problem doing the work. Work does not scare you because as long as you don’t have to deliver something, to produce something, you are safe. Delivering, on the other hand, means that your work will be available to others. That is why many people push deadlines and refuse to deliver.

Overcome fear. Work without delivering means nothing. Give yourself deadlines. Make a commitment to deliver even if the result is not exactly as you would want it to be. Do whatever it takes to have the best product before the deadline but when the date comes deliver no matter what.

Make a commitment to deliver something, make it now and deliver.