I’m A Light Bulb Flashing, Epiphanator To The Extreme! And My Business Shows It!
Posted June 9, 2008 in Inspiration
Oprah calls them epiphanies and my best friend calls them light bulb moments. Whatever they are called, they are the seeds of inspiration that lead us down the paths of success whether in our personal or professional lives.
I used to ignore them as fleeting daydreams of things that would never happen, and then one day, the light bulb stayed on. And I figured out my subconscious was trying to tell me something.
It was trying to tell me, WAKE UP! I was drowning in a sea of debt, no money coming in, sick with cancer, with just one desire; to write. I had an excellent education with two degrees no less. I just wasn’t connecting enough dots to survive. Any of you are/were in a similar situation? If so, read on.
Writing Ideas Down
As a writer and a designer I have been taught to notice things others usually don’t. Things like color and texture and the way I put a sentence together all play into how successful I am on any given project. But sometimes it would stick and sometimes it would stink.
Then I started writing my little flashbulbs down on paper. I would wake up in the middle of the night with an idea for an article or the perfect image for a client’s brochure. Even if it was no more than a rough pencil sketch, I jotted it down. The more I kept track, the more light bulbs went off. Needless to say, I started carrying a notebook in my purse with a pencil attached.
Increase Your Success Rate
I keep all the little notebooks and scraps of paper I write things down on now. I have paper napkins that have ideas for stories and articles I want to write in a box on my book shelf so that when I am lacking for inspiration, I go to the box and start digging.
I have notebooks with detailed diagrams of business opportunities and how I would go about setting these in motion. What the cost of the operation might be and any other details I happen to think of at the time. I have gone back and looked at some of these that are now several years old and some are really good and some aren’t.
But the test of time has allowed me the luxury of being able to rekindle my epiphanies, and increase my success rate with my clients.
Inspirational Epiphanies
The secret to my inspirational epiphanies is not to think too hard. Accept the moment just as that; a moment. Write it down as much as you can recall and let the rest happen. And it will because it is already inside you and is just a matter of recalling it to the surface. Write down everything that comes through at that moment you can’t describe. It’s like looking at an image slightly out of focus and all of a sudden it becomes crystal clear for just a moment before fading back into the fog. You want to record the crystal clear moment for later.
Inspirational Epiphanies
I don’t know exactly why this works, but I do know it does. And the more I listen to that little voice telling me how to make my projects great, the better I get at doing my job.
Everyone works differently and their inspiration comes from all kinds of sources. Maybe you wake up and do your best work like I do, in the middle of the night. Or maybe you find inspiration through nature or your kids or whatever. No matter where it comes from, as freelancers we have to learn to listen to it. And when we hear it, we should act on it. Where do you find your inspiration?
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About the author: About the author: Lois Knight has been a freelance writer and graphic designer for the last two years. She designs predominantly for small start up companies and non profits in need of design services that could not afford them otherwise. She has a background as an entrepreneur for over twenty years and has dedicated herself to educating people interested in graphics as a career. She also wrote an ebook titled: I'm Tired of Being Broke A Freelancer's Guide to Working at Home
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7 Comments
Chris Hoffler
June 10th, 2008 at 1:08 amThanks for this very good and well written article! I’ve notebooks full of ideas and note, it’s a great source of inspiration. Everytime I need a little boost I open up one of these notebooks, read some pages, and usually I will find myself inspired. This method works like a charm!
Chris
Patrick
June 10th, 2008 at 7:48 amGreat article. I needed it after what’s been going on in my life during the past several weeks. Another thing I have been trying to do is to “increase collisions” in my life and business. In other words; try out new things, constantly meet new people, etc. These encounters of people and skills help us to see things in a new light and also generate ideas as a result of trying out new things and hearing what others have to say.
Joe Norton
June 10th, 2008 at 11:33 amCool article. I remember countless times when I would be laying and bed and get an idea so I’d jump out of bed and get my pen and pad and start pouring everything I’ve got on my mind onto the paper. Only then could I sleep.
Christina
June 10th, 2008 at 2:41 pmWell written. I know a few people, my self included, that need to read this. I am currently in the in between stage of realizing I need to makes my ‘dreams’ reality and actually doing just that.
Thanks for the words of wisdom!
Noobpreneur
June 10th, 2008 at 8:31 pmLois,
Great article.
I agree that on any given days, we are exposed with lots of creative thinking.
I often find inspiration, believe it or not, when I do the cleaning.
Arranging my toolboxes, sweeping and moping the floor, washing the dishes – often jolt me with ideas – that some of them turned into my current business.
Cheers!
t-inno
June 13th, 2008 at 4:45 amGreat article! My notebook is just one .doc which is updated frequently from post-it notes on which I wright ideas when I’m home.
I notice, that most ideas were coming when I’m on vacation or on the weekend.
Cheers!
Jim Belfiore
June 28th, 2008 at 9:47 amLois,
You’ve put a finger on a key point that affects personal and collaborative productivity. Sorting and organizing ideas into a figurative box is only valuable if we’re willing to dump the box out on a regular basis and review our ideas. It not only reminds us of past inspirations, but allows us to see new patterns that we might have missed the first time.
You might find a recent article I wrote on a similar topic to be of interest.
(link: http://andromeda-30.blogspot.com/2008/06/ideas-of-futures-passed.html)
Best regards, and stay inspired,
- Jim Belfiore