Belief: The Real Idea Maker

If I had to state the most important thing in finding ideas, it would be belief.  It’s not only my most important prerequisite, it’s also the first thing that needs to be established.  By belief, I mean that we need to know that anything is possible when it comes to our ideas.  We need to believe not only that we’ll get great ideas, but that our ideas will change the world for the better.

Before you even try to come up with ideas, believe that anything is possible.  This is something I could say a million times in a row, but people still wouldn’t follow.  Let me repeat: anything is possible.  Suspending your disbelief, cynicism, and logic will open your mind up to new ideas.

Let’s say that I believed that there was some way human beings could fly.  No airplanes, no jet packs, but with only our bodies and minds.  Yes, this may be impossible to you, but not to me.  Will humans ever be able to fly by themselves?  Maybe not, but I will still believe that it can happen.  You see, believing anything is possible doesn’t make you crazy, it makes you able to see what most others don’t see.

At some point in history, people would be shocked if someone believed the world was round, we could explore space, or man could run a mile under 4 minutes.  What would be shocked about today?  Those are the exact things to believe in.

Belief releases amazing possibilities into our minds.  It turns thoughts and ideas few have ever dared to dream into something real.  You should try it sometime.

Inside a vending machine

See what’s inside from the HowStuffWorks Autopsy.

FailureFresh: Celebrating our failures

Chance The Genie is proud to announce its first idea spinoff. It’s called FailureFresh, where people can submit their failures in life and view the failures of others. I believe that our failures in life are what make us who we are today, and help us appreciate our future success.

The idea came from my own failures in starting a certain business a few months ago. In my frustration over my business struggles, I searched for inspiration on the mistakes successful leaders and businessmen have made. The stories of failure and obvious success today really gave me hope that I could be where they are someday.

I welcome everyone to go to the site, and submit your own failure. You can remain anonymous and give a fake name if you’d like, just make your failure be true for yourself. It can be as long or short as you’d like, a lifelong failure or your failures today, but the point is to celebrate your failure!

Dwarf Planet

How is this different from an actual planet? Wikipedia explains dwarf planets.

What’s a cockapoo?

Here’s the answer.

Ice Cream Innovations

Think non-drip ice cream is a cool innovation? Well, what innovations and new ideas can you come up with for ice cream? Any other ways to prevent melting ice cream, or some other dessert related problem? Is there a new way ice cream can be presented or made? How about a never before thought of flavor of ice cream? Share your thoughts!

The TV king of ideas: MacGyver

Learn all the tricks the iconic problem solver used to save the day for five seasons.

Show some passion for the passion fruit

All you need to know about the passion fruit.

Useless Information Is King of Idealand

If you haven’t seen the section of the site titled Chance’s Carpet Ride, take a look at it.  It’s simply a daily link to some fact or piece of knowledge that isn’t incredibly important or useful, but you’ll learn something nonetheless.  One of the reasons I started Chance’s Carpet Ride was for myself. I wanted to get as much random information on a daily basis as I could.  This random information happens to be the greatest source of inspiration for all of my ideas.

Ideas are using something that exists in the world.  Whether it’s a vacuum cleaner, a radio, a mouse pad, a barn door, or an online game, using anything around you can be an idea.  Even better, combining things can create new ideas that have never been thought of before.  But how do you go about combining ideas in ways that have never thought of before?

That’s where useless information comes into play.  It’s amazing how you can connect two incredibly unrelated topics and ideas to create a new idea that is completely novel and original.  Here are some examples of things that have been combined:

• Plastic and corn (corn-based plastic)
• Lead and sailboats (ballast keel)
• Honey and open wounds (hydrogen peroxide)
• Art and modern advertising (Andy Warhol)

How would you ever know to combine these things together?  Each combination listed requires you to know something seemingly unrelated and obscure to make the connection.  In every example, there is a fact that will give birth to a new idea, and a new way of thinking and doing things.

I’ve said before that knowledge and knowing the facts are important to getting ideas.  It’s very important that you have as much information at your disposal so that you can make the right connections.  More importantly, if you ask the right questions and define your problem properly, you’ll know where to search when it comes to getting knowledge.

So seek out all the useless knowledge you can find.  Follow Chance The Genie on his daily carpet ride, or expand elsewhere on the internet, in the library, to people you know, and in life itself.  This is the way to get new and powerful ideas.

Who invented the toothbrush?

A brief look into the history of the toothbrush.