Where does Inspiration come from

Where does Inspiration come from?

That seed of an idea that pops into your mind, or that fully formed end to end concept.

I have used two photos here, one certainly inspiring one certainly not. 

Did inspiration come from Mount Doom, or the Job of Dread? 

Weirdly it was in the weekend waterblasting our slippery steps when a recent gem of inspiration hit, not perching on a rocky outcrop enjoying Ngauruhoe, (Mount Doom for LoTR fans) and the central plateau laid out before me. 

But it is often in the mundane and repetitive that our minds can be free to wander and find that spark of something new. 

You have all heard of writer’s block, and I think that every creative person (so… every human) gets blocked creativity at some stage. But generally I think that we are fountains of ideas. I feel like when we are resting or not actively thinking our neurons have a chance to connect and invent something new, or a solution that has yet to be considered. Our subconscious often can find answers if we let it.

If you want to go into the ethereal and enigmatic – there are theories there too. Some time ago I read Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Big Magic’ and recall her telling a story about an idea for a novel that she thought of, abandoned, and then someone else came up with the exact same idea. 

The idea of ‘own branding’ was my starting point for Independent Agent. The remote agency idea leap frogged from another business that was doing it that way, but the own-branding differentiation was new – to me anyway.  

And I think the fact that a couple of other NZ made businesses popped up at around the same time, plus the Aussies turned up here kind of shows that it was the right time.

I have accidentally digressed into a bit of IA history here… But here is the point. 

If you have an idea, and it’s a good idea, consider it carefully, consider it quickly, and if it looks like it has some brilliance and there is a chance that it will work, start making your moves. 

If you don’t, you can be sure that someone else will dream up the same idea. They might do it anyway, but you don’t want to be on the sidelines watching them flourish with ‘your’ idea. To me that has to be the pinnacle of disappointment. 

Someone once said It is better to try and fail than to not try at all…