Yes, you read that correctly. I gave birth on a car ride – IN THE CAR! I gave birth to an idea. Something magical and beautiful and exciting! Something we have decided to call Connect Book. An idea that I will discuss another day.

And like every birth, it involved labor. In my case the labor took about 8 hours.idea birth

I love the process by which “things” are created. And when I say “things”, I mean all “things” like; theoretical humanities concepts, business strategies, physical real world products, projects, and process based solutions.  All these “things” start as an embryo of an idea sparked by an observation or thought, and if given the proper nourishment – they grow and evolve.

I’ve had my share of creative births in my life, most of which have been work related, all of which required a few key elements. Elements I would like to share with you in order for you to have your own creative birth.

  1. A seedling or embryo of an idea that flows through your head. Something interesting or different.
  2. The openness to grab on to the flowing idea and inspect it for a few moments. Wondering what it is. And filing it in your head properly for the next steps.
  3. Selecting the right person, or persons to talk about the idea.
  4. Taking the time to properly brainstorm the idea until everything has been hashed out.
  5. Voila! Birth!

Let me elaborate these points a bit further.

First. Our heads flow with thoughts all day long. Most of us have the same thoughts flowing over and over, like obsessions, but sometimes amidst the obsessive and habitual thoughts are new thoughts.  Just like a river will flow water continuously, sometimes a piece of driftwood passes by. And if you are paying attention, you will see the driftwood, and identify it as something interesting and different.

Second. You must extend your hand to grab that driftwood or it will flow by and disappear downstream. You must walk down onto the shore or even into the water and reach for it. Pick it up. Look at it. Find it cool, and put it in your knapsack. At this point an artist would probably be able to create a beautiful sculpture of a swan with the driftwood, without the help of anyone else. But for myself, I enjoy steps 3 and 4.

Third. This third step, from my experience, is critical.  Interesting ideas need to be poked and prodded by more than one person.  Persons that do not judge or discredit. Persons with the same awe for that piece of driftwood that you have. If they don’t – they aren’t the right person (or group) for your birthing process. Another person that understands the beauty and potential of that driftwood will be open to doing the fourth element properly.

Fourth. A good old brainstorming session. A session without a short deadline. A session where all ideas and words and possibilities and theories and concepts are accepted and noted and played with. A session that will allow you to come to the conclusion that the driftwood should be:

  • sculpted into a beautiful swan
  • as a symbol of the beauty of flowing ideas and the seizing thereof
  • and donated to the local museum as such
  • along with it’s story
  • so that everyone who sees it can understand the process by which it was created
  • and that they can themselves give birth to magical, beautiful, and exciting ideas.

– Alex Vinetti