The two things that are most likely to prevent you from having good ideas are simple:

1. You find it untenable to have bad ideas
2. You are so focused on doing that you don’t invest time in dreaming

You don’t have to be the smartest person on the block to have good ideas, but you do have to invest time to think AND be willing to generate a stack of ideas that won’t work. 

Here are some things you could try…

• Schedule time for thinking…
• Take interesting people to lunch and learn more about them and their work…
• Ask your team for the most expensive solution for a given problem…
• Brainstorm ways to access an opportunity for free…
• Ask yourself what your competitor would do…
• Pick an obstacle/opportunity and make a list of 10 ideas every day for a week… 
• Read a book about someone who died 100+ years ago…
• Make a list of everything you are afraid of…
• Talk to your dog about the problem du jour…
• Spend 5 minutes making a list of all the worst ideas you can conjure for a given issue…
• Imagine how your favorite movie hero would deal with a given circumstance…
• Make a list of ways to prevent someone else from solving the problem you are wrestling with…

How can you make space for ideation this week?

If you are feeling overwhelmed as a small business owner, you need to download my free Anti-Overwhelm Playbook today. It will help you find the clarity and direction you need to start redefining your relationship with your business.