Question: What can you sit on, sleep on, and brush your teeth with?
The answer to the riddle is at the end of the post. Think about it while you read on or scroll down if you are really curious.
Some people are always looking for great ideas.
Original ideas.
‘Never done before’ ideas.
Revolutionary ideas.
Ideas that can change the world!
But the ideas that change the world seldom appear that way when they first develop. They just seem like obvious and cute little ideas. The ‘world changing’ comes later. If you are looking for inspiration you might want to focus on the obvious.
So what is obvious? Usually it is the stuff happening right in front of you. It is so close and obvious you overlook it at first.
Here is the dilemma: it takes an outsider to break and ignore the rules but it takes an insider to know what rules to break and see an opportunity for change.
You need to dive in, absorb the medium, then take a step back to see the opportunity. You do this by breaking the pattern.
Buy a magazine about a topic that doesn’t interest you.
Travel to a city you’ve never been before.
Take a walk in the woods, or a long shower.
Read a random page on Wikipedia.
Read a book, visit a museum or talk to a stranger.
When you have an idea, and you think ‘but that is just so obvious’ please pursue it. You can’t rush a revolution.
The answer to the riddle: A chair, a bed, and a toothbrush.
I agree 100% with this. People are always trying to come up with the next new revolutionary thing, but there are so many obvious problems that in fact have obvious solutions, it’s just waiting for someone to roll their sleeves up and get to work.
Also the line “but it takes an insider to know what rules to break and see an opportunity for change.” is very true the most successful and cleverest of individuals have been able to exploit this from working somewhere or on something that wasn’t quite working. They then fixed what they saw was wrong and made it their own, improving the process or product entirely.
Thanks for sharing this article.
The answer to the riddle made me laugh; stupid me. Probably the best way to prove your point! And not just for entrepreneurs, but really helpful in other challenges as well. Thanks!
I love this and am going to incorporate it to some of my lectures. It is the same general idea as thinking, inside the box. In TV every new show that is green lit creates a huge collective sigh of “why didn’t I think of that” even some derisory comments of can’t they think of something new and exciting. We’ll here’s the thing humans are not programmed for different new and exciting. They really like the same but new and exciting, Idol and Xfactor great obvious unoriginal talent show formats done in a new and exciting way.
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