Listening to Your Idea

Is there an idea brewing in your head? How long has it been there? Are you wondering what to do next?

For most of my adult life, I have worked with ideas. I love them. Whether as a TV producer or a programming executive, I have had the honor of carrying seeds to fruition. Some of them are blessed and come into the world with ease. Others don’t.

Some concepts never get off the ground, destined to spend eternity as a proposal. Others stall in the middle. Still others stop inches before the finish line. Where are you on this continuum?

When taking an idea from concept – air – to the marketplace – earth – there are many steps along the way. And there is no roadmap. But there are ways to harness the fire, swim through the water, focus the air, and cultivate the earth along the way to improve the likelihood that your idea will go from an electrical impulse in your brain to an actual product in the marketplace.

The first step always involves getting the idea out of your head and into a form that you can share with others, like a proposal. People often stall here, unsure exactly what the format should be. Don’t worry about the format! Just describe your idea and why you’re passionate about it. It can be one sentence. Then put it where you will see it everyday. Ideas will not call you up and set up a time to meet and flesh itself out. You have to be proactive. After you’ve articulated your idea, then what?

When you’re stuck, I have found it very valuable to listen.

Writing as if you are the idea is an interesting way to tune in. No matter how much you love your idea, it doesn’t mean you’re connected to it. This may mirror how you love in general. Letting go of one’s own agenda is an important first step. Writing with your non-dominant hand also is a way to explore. Begin with a simple statement affirming your idea, like “I am a children’s book about horses.” Then, see what happens next.

You can also ask your idea questions like, “What’s blocking you?” or “What needs to happen next to bring you into the marketplace” or “What other resources do you need to move forward?” Let the words flow on paper or into a tape recorder to discover some new answers.

As you do this, can you have no ambition? This may sound crazy because you probably want to make money from your idea. But put that aside for a moment so that you can see your idea clearly and be with its energy. This way, your idea can use you the way a fetus uses the resources of the mother to grow and be born.

You may be wondering how this will help you develop a business plan if that’s your next step. Well, the goal here is to get outside of your normal range of thinking and mine some new insights, especially if you are at a loss as to what to do next. Once this is done, new possibilities for action should reveal themselves to you. Concurrently, you still need to address issues like the competition, your market, and distribution possibilities, for example. But my intention is that these exercises give you a fresh way to look at how you relate to your idea. Then, you can address these types of business issues from a more solid place.

Good luck!

Susie Arnett

Idea Coach

What is Important?

I recently read an old FORTUNE magazine article about Paul Allen and his NBA team, the Portland Trail Blazers. According to the article, he took one of the best brands in the NBA and nearly destroyed it. How does a smart man do something like this? It’s the same mechanism that takes us all down – strategy that makes sense on paper but doesn’t make sense in the real world. It usually comes down to this - thinking something’s important when it’s not.

What is truly important for success?

As an Idea Coach, I assist people in moving their ideas forward and to create successful outcomes – a published book, an effective marketing campaign, a new tv show – it is crucial to connect with what are the important areas to focus on and give your resources to.

Although there’s a lot of complexity to Allen’s story, I’m going to focus here on his team building strategy and how that hurt him.

His original strategy was to buy names for lots of money without any thought about how these people would play basketball together, or their character.

Allen became one of the biggest payroll spenders in the NBA despite the fact that Portland was the 8^th smallest market. “The philosophy was talent at all costs,” says Allen.

Unfortunately, these big names were mostly over the hill and on their way down and many were involved in criminal activity. As a result fans and sponsors turned off. A big sponsor said, ”The team reached a place where it just didn’t represent our values.”

With ticket sales dismally low, Allen considered selling the team.

But he loved the game and changed his mind, rethinking his strategy instead. He got back into the game of basketball. He cut the payroll, letting go of the idea of buying a championship. He focused on building a team of young players through the draft, a strategy that made sense for a small market like Portland. He focused on the character of the players. Allen spent money on marketing, bringing in a Nike executive to rebuild the brand.

Now, the Trail Blazers are worth 21% more than they used to be and are expected to sell our every home game this year. They have 20 new sponsors and the city is behind its team again.

How does this apply to your idea? What filter can you use to test your strategies to give you a better chance of succeeding?

I versus THOU

Whenever you’re developing an idea, no matter what type of idea it is, one’s ego competes with one’s soul with each decision. In writing this article, I sit with my motivations. Am I trying to prove to you that I’m smart? Do I truly want to help you with your idea? I imagine you sitting at your computer reading this, looking for something that could be useful. I know you’re curious, I assume you have an idea you’d like to bring to market. What is going to help you? I ask the article…tell me what needs to be communicated.

There is this thing that happens when you have an idea. You think it’s yours. (You may not be guilty of this but many are.) Like a parent, you think you know best but you’re making something for someone else. All creators walk a fine line of being connected to your truth about what you think is right and also being flexible enough to the universe’s feedback to make relevant changes.

I read recently that websites are about customers, not about products and it brings up a concept that’s very different in Japan than America. In Japan, it’s the speaker’s responsibility to be understood. In America, though, it’s often the listener’s responsibility to figure out what’s being said.

Who are you focusing on? In the words of Martin Buber, “Through the thou, a person becomes I” and although that may seem esoteric in this context, it is through a deep relationship with our customer that our ideas truly come to life. With authenticity and humanity built in, we fall in love.

“When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.” Buber

And when an idea truly connects with its customer, it is because we as creators are connected as well.

To your success!

Susie Arnett

Idea Coach

Falling in Love with your Idea

Have an idea? Not sure what to do next?

I’m sure it’s happened to you… you are in the shower and you’re struck as if by lightning with an amazing idea. You’re sure it’s the best idea you’ve ever had. You love it. You may even covet it, afraid to share it with others, like a jealous lover, so nobody will steal it… But now what?

Far too often, this is where things come to a grinding stop. Like an infatuation, it’s as if you’re always just staring at it across the room but never getting to touch it, taste it, feel it.

But what if this time it’s different and you really do want to create something? Then what do you do? As an Idea Coach, I assist people in developing their ideas. What I’ve learned is that you and your idea are in a relationship and evolving it requires connecting at the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels.

Let’s begin with the physical aspect, since so many relationships start there.

You love your idea, right? You’re passionate about it. First base in this case is to write it down. Some people never take this step, too afraid of making a mistake, doing it wrong. Performance anxiety crops up. But like a first kiss, there is no right or wrong. You have to just take the plunge. I prefer pencil and big paper instead of typing because computers tend to make things too mental and this is the time to feel into it.

Use your senses. Feel the pencil scratching across the paper. Get colored markers and draw a picture of your idea, even if it’s a book. Create an image of this thought that has taken hold in your mind. What would your idea smell like, what is it’s texture? Add all this to your image.

The emotional aspect is really the engine of this process. It’s the love and passion that gets you through the weeks when the publisher or venture capitalist turns you down. Remember how you felt when you first had the idea, close your eyes, and fill your body with that feeling for a minimum of 5 minutes.

Then, there’s the mental aspect. This is the stage of due diligence where you do your market research, analyze the competition to confirm that this idea really is worth your 100% commitment. Answer basic questions like how is my idea unique or who is my customer.

The spiritual aspect is my favorite. Think about this as tantric idea development where you connect, commune, become one with your idea. Really listen to your idea instead of spending the evening blathering on about your childhood.

Depending on your taste, there are many ways to do this. My goal is always to access the “field” of the idea, to see how it can inform me of what it wants and needs to move forward. Since we are simply the vehicles our ideas use to come into being, we need to listen. Write your idea on a piece of paper and sit on it. Then, wait patiently for its voice to speak to you. It may sound odd but I have been amazed at the insights that come through in this process.

Taking something from an electrical impulse in your brain to a product on a shelf requires action, clear thinking, courage, and connection. With these thoughts in mind, you will be able to move forward, one sense at a time, one level at a time, until you’ve moved in together, signed a legal contract, and begun spawning sequels, product extensions, and ancillary merchandising.

To your success!

Susie Arnett

Idea Coach

This Indecision's Bugging Me

I am developing an idea in an entirely new field. I’m doing my research, talking to anybody who will give me time and doing a lot of google searches. What I discovered after my first round of initial calls is that there are an infinite amount of moving parts. Confusion filled my brain like a dense cloud. I spent days complaining to all my friends that I was so confused by it all. These diatribes were part joking around, part helplessness, and part frustration.

There was this belief in me that because I was new to the business, there was something I didn’t know. There was this thought that if I was familiar with the secrets, I would know exactly what to do. I got really, really attached to being confused. It became my partner for over a week and every time I talked about it, I fed it, strengthened it. And the more attached I got to it, the more frozen and paralyzed I became. Nothing happened to move my idea forward that week.

Where are you confused by your idea? What about moving forward is confusing?

Then, something happened. I had a conversation with someone with lots of experience in this particular industry. He gave me the key when he said, “Look, nobody knows what the hell they are doing and if they look like they do, they are just faking it.”

Hmmm…That snapped me out of it. There wasn’t some mysterious key that would lay out the path before me. There wasn’t anything known, just something for me to discover. It was time for action because action would clarify things. Taking a step would show me if I was moving in the right direction or not. The universe’s feedback would light the way. I was again the heat seeking missile, heading for the big door with the word “YES” on it and like a missile, I had to be moving to be corrected. Sitting in confusion wasn’t getting me anywhere. Taking a step made a difference.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

1. Define your confusion. If it feels like there are many variables and you’re not sure what to address first or what’s more important, write each down. Give the choices your full attention, instead of the confusion. Forget about the confusion for an hour or two. And try this one on… If you were completely and 100% confident, what would you do?

Good Luck!!!

Picking Up the Pieces

Yesterday, I went to the dry cleaner which I never do. As the mother of two small children, my wardrobe is pretty much wash and wear (or don't wash and wear, depending on the week). When I gave her my phone number, the woman behind the counter said, "Oh, you have something here." This surprised me since I couldn't remember the last time that I'd been there. "Wait," she continued, "that was in 2005."

It all came flooding back to me. 4 years ago, I had been to the dry cleaner. But I couldn't afford to pick up the clothes. We were so broke that not only could I not afford to pick up 2 items of dry cleaning, but I couldn't fill my tank at the gas station, buy food regularly, and every month, we played roulette to decide which bills to pay.

What does all this have to do with your idea? It struck me last night that for every creator, at some point, there is this type of "dark night of the soul" where you feel it is hopeless, that you've lost the game and you are ready to give up. Thinking back to that moment in my life when money was non-existent and I had two babies, the situation felt impossible. How were we ever going to make it through?

But we did. And it was my body that carried me through when my mind was consumed by torturous thoughts and negative scenarios. Regardless, I still had to get up in the morning, make breakfast out of whatever we had, change diapers, take the kids for a walk and look for bugs under rocks. I just kept moving. And eventually, doors opened, money came back into our lives and we have more than enough now.

There is a tremendous amount of advice right now about how to manifest money and how to create the life that you want. To be honest, I find it all kind of confusing and if I did do all the stuff in The Secret, how would I have time to do anything else?

All I can tell you is what I do... In my mind, I have a clear picture of myself in my 60's, the white hair, the house, the life, the accomplishments. Almost every day, I check in with her, my future self, and I ask her to guide me in getting from this moment to there. What are the steps to take? Envision your future self, let him or her help you whenever you are stuck, confused, or ready to give up.

This may sound like obnoxious advice, especially during a recession, when people are struggling and afraid the way I was 4 years ago, but if you are out of work or not working as much as you'd like, there is a lot you can enjoy for free. Carve out time for your family and yourself, for your idea. These moments when everything is taken away are potent because in them, you can recreate your life. There is nothing stopping you but your own resourcefulness. Dive deeply into your own empty spaces, your own possibilities and do something. Pick up a phone, call somebody, write something, email everyone you know, fight for the life you want.I don't mean fight with other people or struggle and suffer. I mean show up 100%. Give it your all. Because your future depends on it.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

1. Write a very detailed description of your future self. Meditate on this image. Ask him or her a specific question and wait for an answer.

2. Where have you given up in your idea development process? In your life? Or where are you not giving 100%? Write it down. (Are you keeping an idea development journal?)

3. Remember back to the first time you ever gave up. Describe the moment in as much detail as you can. Then, forgive yourself and make a list of what is worth fighting for today.

The University of Google

With any idea, there is the balance of the practical elements of developing your idea - i.e. writing your business plan or proposal - and the esoteric or internal work that needs to be done. For the past 3 weeks, we've looked at our inner landscapes, our beliefs and visions, so now it's time to address some of the more mundane aspects.

The word, mundane, has gotten a bad rap. It's become a word for all that is boring, dull, or trivial. Originally, it meant "belonging to the world" (as distinct from the church) and in that sense, it is very relevant for all of us trying to create a product or service that will "belong to the world". It's time to embrace the mundane!

What does all this have to do with Google? Well, it is the organizer of all that is mundane. On it, you can find the resources that you need to move forward. Type in "business plan sample" and you get 19,400,000 hits. Type in "book proposal sample" and you get 1,530,000 hits. Need some demographic information for a meeting with a possible funder? It's there. This crucial step of finding the forms our ideas need to take to be sold or financed in the world are often out there. So stop wondering what to do next and start searching for your next steps. It's all waiting for you.

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

1. Look at your list of next steps (remember WEEK 2?) and begin searching for the information you need to take those steps.

2. Try and search each step 10 different ways. Be creative because you never know how your resources may be labeled.

3. Do it right now!

Often, when talking to clients, I refer them to the University of Google. We are limited only by the creativity of our search words. Today, anyone can sell anything to everyone.

For those of you out there operating at the level of spirit

Your Starting Point

I was speaking with a client who has a beautiful vision for a very unique type of healing center. She told me that the perfect property to house her center just came on the market. But it was going for $2.6 million dollars. "Now what?" she asked, since this wasn't in her budget.

Then, she spoke these dangerous words,"But if I'm on the right path, the resources will come, right?" I'm always wary when I hear this type of phrase because often these words reveal the part of an idea that has stopped growing; where creativity, resourcefulness, and flexibility are not allowed. In fact, this client hadn't done anything about her idea since she had seen this property, stymied by its perfection.

This stalled moment is something I call vision blindness. When we're first envisioning our ideas, we often see them fully executed and many of us have even created vision boards that show us where we want to end up. But this final vision can often be so seductive that it blinds us to our starting point.

The starting point - where I am right now - is easily judged as being inadequate and inferior to that future vision where everything is fully executed and perfect. We look around ourselves and it's easy to see what is not there and this can be discouraging. But we don't judge babies because they can't perfectly walk or talk, right?

So how do we figure out the baby steps that are possible today instead of waiting for things to be perfect before we begin?

In the Upanishads it is written that "the spider reaches the liberty of space by its own thread," which always reminds me that our most important resources are inside us. The client above knows she doesn't really need that property to begin, although it would be nice. Her idea was born out of a deep desire to create community and wasn't attached to a certain acreage until she made her future vision board.

We spoke about how Jesus began his church under the trees, he didn't wait for Notre Dame to be built. "How can you begin," I asked her, "now?" Her passion to create connection was her string and when she followed it, she immediately began to brainstorm alternative spaces and ways to begin. They were steps the size of her own two feet.

I propose you make a vision board of your starting point, of your life today. Focus on the positives - your skills, experience, friends, family, pets. Where something isn't (money, expertise, partners, etc), use some positive image to represent not the lack but the potent space waiting to be filled. Fall in love with right now because everything you need to create the future is here.

Then, make a vision board of your fully realized idea. Place the two side by side. You might be amazed at the bridges you'll discover that connect them.

To get from here to there, you must hold both here and there inside you simultaneously. Feel the ground under your feet right now. Look to the sky. In what direction is your next step?

WEEK 3 - Homework Assignment

1. Make a vision board of your life today and put today's date at the top of the paper. Either cut out images from magazines or draw the different parts of your life. Use photographs if you like. Create a symbol for what is yet to come. Again, this can be a drawing or an image from a magazine but label it with words like funding or the perfect business or creative or technical partner, etc. Color it, embellish it, pour essential oils on it. Engage your senses!

2. Create a vision board of your realized vision and put a date on it in the future. Also, write your logline at the top of the board next to the date. Include the people that will be part of it, what your day will be like then, how much money you will have in the bank or coming in that day.

3. Look at them side-by-side. What connections do you see? Please share them with us!

Hitting the Wall

I'm putting together a documentary project and I've hit a wall. Based on the subject matter, there are 2 companies that could finance it. Company A has agreed to donate some seed money which is enough to begin but not complete the film. Company B has access to many of the important subjects but is not interested in putting up any money. Because of the competitive nature of the industry, Company B has said that if I take Company A's money, they will not participate meaning I would lose some important interviews.

Now what?

Oftentimes in the idea development process, we hit a wall. There's a great Arab saying that goes, "When you must decide between two difficult choices, choose the third." But how do you even discover a new path when you perceive your options as limited?

This post, we'll look at how to define the nature of the wall (it is usually inside of us) because oftentimes in the process of assessment, ways to sidestep or dissolve the wall become apparent. It's usually when we allow the wall to be vague that it feels enormous and is capable of controlling us.

If we look at this doc project, I cannot do anything about the 2 companies and their positions but when I look at what I can control - my own beliefs about the project - I see clearly a thorn in my side. I have a belief that I need Company B's contacts. I realize this is an opinion and not a fact. Though they are an aspect of the story, they are not the only aspect. I now have a choice instead of a wall.

Look at your idea and write down all the next steps that you can imagine. Take each one and write down your reactions to each step. Which reactions are concrete facts and which are your beliefs?

Someone submitted an idea about filming dowsing meetings because he was interested in capturing the spiritual content there. He asked the question, "What can I do to make this happen?"

Whether or not he has any experience making videos, I believe he has everything he needs to make this idea happen. But his question shows that he believes otherwise. Perhaps he has a specific belief that he is not a cameraman or a more general one like he doesn't know how to do this. This can definitely be paralyzing. But it's not true.

What I would say is track down a mini-DV camera and begin filming the meetings yourself. If nobody has a camera he can borrow, it is possible to rent them affordably in almost every major city. Take that footage and put it on youtube. All of a sudden, he's got a youtube channel on dowsing at very minimal expense.

If the meetings are happening in other cities, put an ad on craigslist or call a local college. There are abundant affordable resources out there that are available now via the internet in a way that is unprecedented. Go on google!

This leads to my second step in dissolving the wall. Usually, it involves learning something. It may be as personal as learning to believe that you can or it may be more concrete like learning how to write a business plan (there are plenty free samples on-line if you look).

I know in my core that we are all capable of learning anything if the motivation is there.

Recently, my toilet started running but the expense of hiring a plumber plus the belief that I could never, ever, no way ever fix it myself held me hostage for days. Finally, worry about my water bill motivated me to call the plumber for an estimate. When he saw the problem, he told me to go to Home Depot. They had a kit, he said. I felt a pang of fear in my gut. Realizing life was telling me that I had to do this myself, I took the plunge and drove to the store. Sure enough, they had a kit there for $20. At home, I followed the directions which were surprisingly straightforward. Empty the water from the tank, remove the broken fill valve, install the new one. Exhilaration is the only word to describe the feeling of that first, successful flush.

For those of you out there who are not afraid of your toilets, this may not seem like a big deal but to me, it was life-changing because it was empowering. (More power is always handy) Although you may not be stopped by plumbing issues, what is stopping you and what do you need to learn to make your dreams come true?

HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

1. Write down 10 (or more) possible next steps that need to be taken to move your idea forward.

2. For each step, write down 5 reactions that come up, both positive (I can do this and when you will do it) and negative (I can't because...)

3. Write down 1 thing you need to learn to move your idea forward and how/where you will learn this. Remember, Google is always a great place to start.

4. Post your response, what did you learn from doing this exercise?

Keep creating!

Susie Arnett

Idea Coach

Your Idea's Logline

Welcome to your very own on-line idea group. You are part of a community of creators who are all moving their ideas forward. Everyone has an idea but when you come to this site, you will find tools and tips and methods to do something about it.

Each post will offer an insight into the idea development process and end with a homework assignment. Your task is to go out there and do it! Then, report back. Share your homework and also share your process - what's working and what's not.

Before we get into this week's topic, some ground rules. If you are inspired by a member's ideas, only positive feedback please. And the other rule is about privacy. Some people love to share their ideas and some don't. Please find your own comfort level for the details you want to divulge about your idea. But again, please fully share your process - what's helping and what's holding you back - because that is often much more helpful than the specifics of any one idea. And of course, no stealing or poaching.

I am always amazed by the diversity and passion of people's ideas. And I notice, too, some common blocks.

At some point, everyone asks the question, "What now?" Whether you only have a thought or you've got your idea prototyped, how you handle this question - at any stage of the process - determines your idea's future.

Notice whether you respond to this moment with helplessness or curiosity. If it feels like a wall and not a game, there are steps you can take to dissolve it.

The first step is to be extremely clear about what your idea is. For example, Lynn writes that she wants to sell sprouts in Mexico. But what's the product or service? Does she want to start a sprout farm, be the middleman selling someone else's sprouts, or become the Julia Child of sprouts and write a cookbook. Depending on the passions and resources of the creator, a choice must be made, at least to begin with. Being specific about your idea always helps clarify next steps.

Therefore, in this first post, I ask you to write a logline for your idea.

(Everyone's ideas are at different levels so if you've already made a prototype or developed it further, try revisiting this step to see if you can discover a new way of thinking about your idea.)

Some of you may have heard of the word, logline. If not, it's how movie people sum up their films in one sentence. Here's a logline for one of the most successful films of the last decade... A young man and woman from different social classes fall in love aboard an ill-fated voyage at sea. Can you guess the movie? The Titanic.

For example, this on-line idea group began as an idea. My goal is to create "an online group to help move its members' ideas forward". Pretty simple, right? It shouldn't be complicated. Elements to include are the product, the buyer, and the juice that brings the two together.

It may take pages and pages of journaling about your idea to come up with it. Another woman wrote that she wanted to make handmade soaps and offer women who can't work outside the home the opportunity to package them. Is she in the soap business? Or the franchise business?Is she marketing to spas or mothers?

Once you've written this, you must embody your logline. I recommend finding some privacy and speaking your logline as loudly as you can, editing it if necessary until it feels just right.

Record yourself speaking it. Let go of any self-consciousness. Remember, it's not about you and your vocal quality...it's about your idea.

This process of naming your idea out loud is a powerful one and will help carry your vision through the ether to all the invisible forces that support us in manifesting our dreams. Sing your idea into being. Record it, dance it, write it on the mirror in your bathroom. Gather it from your own essence and bring it forth so you can examine it. Read it like a rune. Revel in it.

In the next post, we will look at how to take this logline and flesh it out into an effective business plan or proposal.

Week 1 - Homework Assignment

1. Write your idea's logline and speak it out loud.

Some thoughts - call your own phone and leave it on the answering machine, go to the woods or beach and scream it out to mother nature. Vocalize it in an unexpected way. Have fun with it. Then, let us know how it affected you.

Normally there will only be one homework topic but since we're beginning, please also write down and share with the group one goal you would like to accomplish by the end of the 6 weeks. You may find that this gets edited over the next few weeks but carve out a starting goal for yourself.

Best,

Susie Arnett

Idea Coach