be cheap

Creativity can be cheap.

Just for fun, I ran some numbers. I looked up the top 20 or so books on creativity, then made a list of the software on creativity I could track down, and then made a list of the courses I could find (at least those that listed a price). I came to the conclusion that I could spend many thousands of dollars for tools to enhance my creativity. And there is real value in most of them. But oddly, one of the best and most valuable tools I have costs less than a dollar.

I keep a small notebook, or a few 3"x5"  notecards close at hand at all times. I keep them in my pocket. I keep them in all my suit coats. I keep them next to the bed. I have them at both of my desks. In fact, there is no place in my home or in either of my two offices that you can be more than a foot or two from them.



 

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Why? Because I am always getting great ideas at the wrong time. I get them when I am on the phone, or in the middle of the night. Or while I am at lunch with a client. Or late at night talking to my wife. Most of us get the same kinds of great ideas at terrible times. But, with the cards always at hand, it is easy to make a note to remind me of the idea for when I do have the time.

It’s amazing how the ideas stack up. Just for fun (OK, I do a lot of things just for fun), I let these idea cards stack up for three months. The stack was over three inches high, with each card representing an idea that would have otherwise been lost.

The cost? A pack of 3"x5" cards is about seventy nine cents. One of those little notebooks you buy in the school supply section can be even less. Pretty good return on investment!