The New Ideas Blog

Just so readers of this blog don’t think that I do nothing but dream up ideas without ever putting them to use, I’ll tell you what I am doing right now. I am putting to use the idea (not entirely my own) of giving away books to make money. I have tried similar techniques before, with some success.

I just finished writing a book on Meditation and how to use it to increase the power of one’s mind. It is called “Mind Power Meditation,” and has nine short chapters. I m not entirely sure what I will do with it in the future, but for now only  select group of people will see it - the three hundred or so (more…)

A few years back I was reading a book on subliminal persuasion, and I came to a part about using inflection. The subtle emphasis of certain words can totally change how something is understood. For example, if a salesman says, “I’m sorry, but I can’t do that for you,” with the inflection on the “I,” it suggests that someone might be able to. If he says “I can’t do that for you,” emphasizing the “you,” he is essentially saying that you are the problem.

I later realized that this techniques could be used for creative problem solving. I wrote a page explaining how for one of my websites. Here is a slightly modified reprinting of that: (more…)

(Stories From The Cabin - Part Six)

Creativity is natural in children, but rather than encourage it, adults often discourage it. They do so by teaching kids to judge the results of their efforts too soon, to compare too much, and to avoid any mistakes as though they are terrible things. They also watch too closely and offer advice too readily, trying to control what their children are doing. Fortunately, my four brothers and I had a mother who tended to allow us our freedom, especially during our long summers at the cabin.

I was probably nine years old when one day we were playing on the beach and (more…)

(Stories From The Cabin - Part Three)

One way to have more creative ideas is to understand the principles involved in things and apply them in new ways.

The water was gushing out of the eight-foot-high culvert by the little cabin I lived in, because it was the height of the spring snowmelt. I was nineteen and always looking for a bit of adventure. Although there were a few snowflakes in the air, it seemed like there must be some way to have fun in that torrent of water…

“Why not water ski (more…)

A fun way to exercise your creative abilities is to think of new uses for things. This is also a way to innovate and invent new products. It’s way to save money too. Ever use chairs for saw horses or milk crates for furniture? Here are some examples from my own life to get you thinking.I worked in fast food early in life, and I hated to see those strong cardboard boxes that the cups came in thrown away. They were (more…)

I was just looking through a file I have which has a list of forty or fifty ways to creatively solve problems and/or create new ideas and products. Here are two of them.

1. Change The Size

I used to play a trivia game at a tavern in Michigan on Tuesday nights. Laura, the hostess and master of ceremonies, read the questions while sitting in a wooden chair that was at least six feet high. I’m not sure if there (more…)

You may or may not know that I have an ebook called “Problem Solving Power,” which has dozens of ways to creatively solve problems and generate new ideas. There are several “techniques” which are more about gathering information or other practical ways to prepare for an “idea session,”, but the many are fun techniques, like “random presentation,” or “assume the absurd,” or using metaphors.

Today I was looking at all the different techniques and I noticed that (more…)

I was reading a recent issue of Time magazine and found an article on new inventions and innovations. Here’s a look at a few that caught my eye.

Global Seed Vault - I saw a story on this years ago, and now it is finally open. Located underground and above the arctic circle on the island of Spitsbergen, Norway, this is now taking in seeds from countries around the world. It can hold millions of (more…)

Having new invention ideas is easy when you know the techniques. In fact, the ideas by themselves are not worth much. I would guess that the average new product has been “mentally invented” by a hundred or a thousand people before somebody actually made it.

I know this in part from experience, because I am one of the crowd who like to dream up new ideas but never bring them to market. I also have seen (more…)

Those of you who follow my writing on various websites know that I frequently suggest making “problems” into opportunities. In my Brainpower Newsletter I might propose this as an exercise in creativity, while in my Unusual Ways To Make Money Newsletter I suggest it as a way to create profitable ideas. But there is a more important aspect to this.

Our ideas about “problems” can make us miserable, and changing them can (more…)