I get great ideas when Im trying to sleep...!

[Aaron Elliott]

Always when I try to sleep (takes me a while) I get great ideas. I even run through what to write, or what products I will be getting next and how to promote them. I wake up and yep, forget everything! I will now be keeping a notepad and pen beside the bed, and likely annoy my wife every 10 minutes.

My question to you all is - where & when do u get your great ideas and have they made you lots of cash?

[igorhelpsyousucceed]

Hey, KiteJunkiee

This happens because when you are trying
to sleep you quiet down your mind and
when you do that it's when the magic happens.

Try to quiet down your mind more frequently
and you will get more great ideas my friend.

~Igor

[Earl Heflin]

Good point Igor. I like meditation to quiet the mind.
Ya know, many great inventors had their best
problem solving ideas while their minds were quiet.
Your higher-powered, creative self has a channel
when your able to be quiet and listen.

You absolutely want to keep a notebook by your side
when you sleep. I get a lot of ideas when I'm cruising
in my vehicle by myself.



If you want to see a great video on creative thinking
and more of how to draw on it look up "Elizabeth
Gilbert:A new way to think of creativity" on Youtube.

I would post a link here, but apparently I need 5 more post.
When I get those, I'll come back here and post it.

I hope you enjoy it, as I did.

[Rob Whisonant]

Forget the notpad and pencil. Get a digital voice recorder. Keep it by the bed and when you have a thought just grab it and start talking or whispering to keep from waking the wife. No need to turn on a light.

Re's
Rob Whisonant

[ramkarthik]

This happens to almost everyone.

You go to sleep and you get so many good ideas. You get so excited that you can't even sleep.

You think the idea you just got will earn you million dollars.

Your heart starts beating at a a faster rate.

You just cannot calm down. You cannot sleep for at least half hour.

It happens for many and that includes me.

You already have the solution for it. Take a notepad, write it down and don't worry about it till the next day morning.

[Adeel_Chowdhry]

This is common..

You just need to write down some notes the INSTANT you get them otherwise you WILL forget.

I probably have about 20 sticky notes right in front of me now!

Adeel

[ragstworiches]

Great Thread,

I remember I had this crazy idea at 5am that I was going to start virtual concerts, with front row access to exclusive gigs recorded live and bands playing virtual gigs via webcams...sadly it never materialised.

Phil

[jayden.fellze]

I always am doing that, even when I am asleep my my mind works the best. I think that I find peace when everything is really quiet. Fortunately, the ideas wont wash away even if I woke up the next morning.

[Aaron Elliott]

I also get great ideas while kite surfing, actually this is when I get most of my ideas! But at the same time, again when im finshed I cant remember half of them -

[Smokey_Joe]

I remember when I was in high school I once literally dreamed of a solution to a geometry thing I had given up on earlier that night. Naturally, I couldn't remember it once I woke up

My conviction is that the best ideas come when you shift the focus of your attention to something absolutely different. Once the tension on the brain is released, it can process all the tiny snippets you have thought of and generate them into a meaningful whole. As Agatha Christie would say, she got the ideas for many of her murder stories while she was doing the dishes (a totally different implication, but still).

[traian29]

This reminds me of an Seinfeld episode when Jerry was almost asleep and he was watching something at the tv, got a funny idea and write down something on a piece of paper.

Next morning he could not remember what was the joke, he coudn't understand what he wrote ... But after a while he saw the same thing at tv and he remembered but he didn't find it funny

[Fernando Veloso]

My best ideas come when i discuss IM with my wife, brother in law or a friend or two. BrainStorming all the way!!!

[Mike Hill]

Yeah this happens to me too... If I'm looking for an answer to a question for my business or a new marketing idea I'll ask the question and let it run through my mind the whole time I'm trying to sleep. I always get the answer... sometimes it takes a few nights but it always comes sooner or later.

I also keep a digital voice recorder on my night side table so I can quickly talk about the idea because I think faster than I can write. When I try to write down the idea it usually disapears before I cn get all of it down exactly the way I thought about it. But with a voice recorder I get all the details which I can sort out in the morning.

Most of the answers I get do not come in order and are just a big burst of energy with all those ideas coming in spurts.

Mike Hill

[cosmokid]

I'm at the point where I'm designing websites in my sleep and then getting disappointed in the morning that all that work I did overnight didn't actually happen - except in the virtual world!

Yikes. Guess this is what happens when your computer is strapped to your hip.

Jennifer

[Shlomi Khutoretsky]

My best ideas pop out in the shower

[Aaron Elliott]

Very interesting to hear almost everyone else here has the saem issue... as for a digital voice recorder, my wife would love that (not)! I wish I could brain storm ideas to my wife but she quickly swtiches off.... My problem is I love workng at night say from 1900-0500. This is ok now as im on night shift, though next week ill be back on days - which means my ideas will come again when im trying to sleep, this time though ill be writing them down.

[Kevin Riley]

Originally Posted by Kitejunkiee

Always when I try to sleep (takes me a while) I get great ideas. I even run through what to write, or what products I will be getting next and how to promote them. I wake up and yep, forget everything! I will now be keeping a notepad and pen beside the bed, and likely annoy my wife every 10 minutes.

My question to you all is - where & when do u get your great ideas and have they made you lots of cash?

Welcome to my world. Most of my life has been like that, and I always have notepads and pencils at hand.

I get my ideas as I'm drifting off to sleep, riding on a train, walking, or working out at the gym. It's that time away from the computer and other barriers to creativity that brings the ideas popping out.

[AbbyJane67]

I also keep a note pad by the bed, but am always worried about waking my "significant other" by turning on a light to write things down! The recorder is a good idea, sounds don't normally wake him.

The fact that most cell phones have a built in digital recorder is one of those convenient tricks of technology I may put into use.

I find that I get ideas as I'm waking in the morning, even more than in the middle of the night. The notebook has come in handy then, because if I don't write them down right away, the thought will vanish as soon as I'm awake.

I also used to get ideas while driving. I've used the cell phone message recorder button for those many times.

I don't know if you'd call these ideas successful, as for the most part they've been ideas for articles rather than marketing inspiration. But a few have resulted in sales, so I guess they're not all so bad!

[Richard A.Cox]

When you go to sleep, scientist monitoring your brain can see one of the six lights go out. But the other five keep on working. They are like the Energizer bunny; they just keep going and going.

This is one of the reasons that your non-conscious brain is actually more then 5 times as powerful as your conscious brain. It thinks when you are sleeping. It thinks when you’re are awake.

[dannyhw]

I've got an old time IBM stencil handy all the time for when a database design pops into my head. I also keep a note pad in the car or sometimes in my pocket.

[TommyGee]

I'm the same way, I get many ideas when I start to fall asleep.

Another time I get a ton of ideas is after a drink or two. I think it is because I relax and my mind is calmed after a busy day.

[myob]

I have never had that problem. That's why I suppose I just keep buying WSO's. Keep those ideas coming!

[dannyhw]

I get ideas about software and automation, but most of what I use is just from data. I index keyword data, I index all the pages that are ranking for the terms I'm interested in, all the inbound links for those pages, etc. Kind of what linkscape from seomoz offers but I focus mainly on the darker hat efforts. It's kind of an obsession.

[ajbarnes777]

I'm the same way. I get a ton of ideas either when I'm going to sleep, just woke up, or when I'm in the shower.

[MarkWrites]

I use both the digital voice recorder and the post it notepad method, sometimes those around don't appreciate the voice recorder. Another way to capitalize on this is to take a break or two during the day for a relaxing activity. Three or four times a week I usually head to the park with my laptop, its both relaxing and the change of scenery gets the creative juices flowing. By the time the battery is about to run out, I head back home.

[Gabe77]

Mine's the opposite. I get fresh ideas after a good night's sleep, even a nap does wonders to my brain. I can't think clearly when I'm sleepy or sleep deprived.

[korypearman]

Yeah I actually have a notebook and pen beside my bed next to my Hannah Montana lamp.

YEA I SAID HANNAH MONTANA

[Peter Bestel]

Yeah, me too.

We're in good company as many geniuses (or is it genii?) found this to be the case also. Aristotle, Henry Ford, Dali and Einstein to name but a few. And it's well documented that Edison used to nap whilst holding a steel ball in each hand, so when he dozed off, dropping the balls and waking himself from his semi-sleep state, he immediately realised the solution to whatever problem he was working on. The first light bulb moment! (lol)

Peter

PS I wonder what they used to call 'light bulb moments' before he invented the light bulb?

[Anomaly1974]

One of my biggest problems when I got married was getting my wife NOT to clean up the vast number of pens and pads of paper I had strategically lying around my house. Once she figured out they were there for a reason I had no more problems. I have numerous pens and at least some paper in every room.

Just my two cents

[wbnetwork]

When I'm Driving I get the Best Ideas

[absolutelee]

I know this won't resonate with everyone, but I get my best insights about ten minutes after praying (which is kind of like meditation, I guess). It's uncanny how often this happens. I would say about 9 times out of ten.

Lee

[dean_holland]

Man ... !!

You know what just in the last couple of months since things have taken off for me I CAN NOT stop the ideas coming !!

I have so many that I know are money makers but not enough time for them all

I have to carry a small notepad and pen in my jacket pocket and also sleep with one next to my bed LOL

Might sound crazy but its the truth, normally just as Im falling asleel something comes into my mind and I wake to write it down, trouble is I then cant sleep as Im thinking about all the angles and possibilities

Cheers man

Good post !

Dean

[devzealot]

It is a great idea to keep the notepad by the bed. I Think everyone has the same ideas or thoughts running through their heads at night, I think it's because everything is so quiet we can have that peace that is needed to generate some great thoughts

[Aaron Elliott]

This is great, as it seems like almost all of us have ideas while trying to sleep. I myself have always had trouble sleeping, my mind is always active! Its annoying alot of the time!

[Jason Pereira]

I have problems sleeping because of ideas. And the problem with my mind is that it tends to exaggerate and make things seem awesomely easy right before you pass out... I think of an idea, start doing math and think up huge dollar signs. Then I get all excited and it's almost impossible to fall asleep.

Had an exam today at 9 but only manage to fall asleep at around 5 because I had one of those ideas.

[slovatt]

Sometimes I swear that inspiration strikes out of the blue and I could be a Pulitzer Prize Winner if I could only find a pen. Of course, by the time I've found one *poof* it's disappeared.

[Jabeto]

Hmmm.. the shower always does it for me.... I guess I need a waterproof voice recorder of some sort... not sure if one exists though...

[ny_mariposa]

My best ideas come either when I'm trying to sleep, or more often when I'm in the car. I drive a lot. Many hours at a time. I've stopped to record a note on my cell phone for future reference.

[Flyingpig7]

I'm the same I get ideas when driving sometimes when Ironing as well. I too have a pen and paper beside my bed. Dreaming sometimes helps, writing down the images first thing in the morning can get ideas I was thinking about yesterday, sorted out.

Keren

[Cassie18]

I've had a pad and pen by my bed for years - so far it's empty. Only kidding . Actually what everyone says here is correct. Going to sleep is a very peaceful thing and our brain can get quite creative. I think, naps, mediation and prayer work wonders.

[ShazLeghari]

Yes, this happens because, your mind is in delta mode, your mind is in a deep quite state when that happens, all of your cells spread which results in more imaginative mind and thus creating new ideas

[jakesellers]

My solution for nighttime ideas (and emails) was an eee pc with the backlight set to next to nothing, no fan, quiet keyboard. For the car I have the voice memo function hotkeyed on my cellphone, and for the shower, privvy and boonies I found these waterproof 3" by 4.5" pads and write-anywhere waterproof pens at a military surplus store. Apparently they're the sort used by US Special Forces when they get a good niche idea on the terlet too.

[dimitri.richko]

Yeah, Me too get fantastic ideas but in my case I get them while sleeping and I do not forget them.

[Sully Chaudry]

I get a lot of great ideas right here on this forum!

Otherwise, it just happens randomly. When I'm brainstorming or bouncing ideas off of another entrepreneur I usually get one or more several good ideas.

I have a folder where there's literally hundreds of ideas for short/long term businesses.

It's just a matter of picking one and testing it out.

[CPA]

Dudes do you realize how old this thread actually is? Somebody most of bumped it. I remember it was up like a few months ago :P

[dsmpublishing]

I always get my ideas when im on holiday sat by the pool daydreaming. But like you i also get a lot of ideas when im trying to get to sleep so my brain is sometimes my personal notebook.

kind regards


sam
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