Many things are responsible for your results and successes across your lifespan and not all of it is in your hands. However, a large part of who we are and what we become lies in how effectively we use our minds.
What if there was a basic and simple method you could follow every day that could allow you to invest in your mental performance and give massive returns for your energy spent?
Such a system does exist, it’s straightforward, it can be done anywhere, and it fully realizes the potential of the 3-pound supercomputer in your skull.
10 Ideas List – An Overview
The person credited with popularizing this idea is James Altucher, he writes about this on his blog here.
The basics are simple:
- Every single day (without fail) create 10 ideas about something.
- It doesn’t matter if they’re “good” or “bad” ideas.
- James Altucher mentions that you most likely won’t be able to spot the bad and good ones as humans are not good at predicting outcomes when things get complex.
- The most important thing is that you train your brain to be able to churn out ideas.
It would be false to say that James Altucher invented this method – in fact – it’s as old as the hills.
Cerebral powerhouses like Thomas Edison, Nicholas Tesla, and Leonardo Da Vince swore by this method.
Leonardo Da Vinci's notebooks are full of ideas – anything from philosophical concepts, to word games, or ideas for inventions.
Most of the best scientists, authors, marketers, entrepreneurs, or anyone who uses their mind to produce stuff engages in some form of idea-creation habit.
10 Ideas List – An Action Plan
The steps to apply this habit are straightforward and the most important thing is consistency.
Just like physical training, you have to do it regularly and frequently to see results (this is something that James Altucher reiterates all the time and he recommends practicing this 7 days a week).
You’re using this as a method to strengthen your mind and develop new mental skills – for this to work, you do it every day, without fail.
Most of the time this exercise takes less than 10 minutes to do.
James Altucher states that the reward for this daily effort is unlocking the equivalent of a superpower, you’re able to come up with creative ideas at the drop of a hat and are capable of solving problems and seeing solutions in any situation.
Step 1: Buy a Small Notebook
James Alucher says he uses a waiter’s notebook, but the reality is that any small thing that can fit into a pocket will do.
The important thing is that it’s a portable place where you can take it out jot down 10 ideas and put it away, no matter where you are.
The important thing is coming up with the ideas and not the ideas themselves (yet).
Step 2: List 10 Ideas
It has to be 10.
Most people can come up with 3 or 4 good ideas, but 10 will challenge most people.
That’s the purpose of this exercise, once you get past the first 2 or 3 or 4 you have to start thinking creatively and using what you know in innovative ways.
At first, this can be quite challenging, but you’ll find that your mind quickly adapts and can pump out very interesting ideas about nearly anything with practice.
Step 3: If You Struggle With 10 Try 20
What if you’re struggling and 10 seems like too much work?
James Alucher gives us an interesting solution.
He says to write down 20.
This isn’t to be masochistic, usually, people struggle to write down 10 ideas because they are trying to produce 10 good ideas.
This means that they are self-editing and not being creative or generative.
Upping the number forces you to come up with absolutely absurd and what may be impractical ideas but it’s the single best way of training your brain in this skill.
Step 4: Be as Creative as Possible
Ideas can be about anything you want.
The more broad your “idea” categories are, the better your results will be.
Try and come up with ideas for things that are outside of your usual wheelhouse.
If you’re just trying to come up with ideas for a business or ideas to make money then try coming up with poem ideas, plots for a detective novel, funny names, or jokes.
This makes you look at things with a new perspective and is like rocket fuel for innovation.
When your mind is capable of different kinds of creative thinking it comes up with more creative solutions everywhere.
If you want to learn more about how to think creatively and outside the box, then watch this video:
Step 5: Unlock Your Ideas
Another exercise you can add that multiplies the value of the ideas you’ve created is to take a single idea from your notebook and then think up “10 next steps.” This trains your brain to be solution-oriented and to see the next step in whatever you have to do.
Being able to break down hard projects into simple steps is a superpower in itself and almost a cheat code for success – so with this method, you are getting a two-for-one deal.
The Ideas List in Action
Here’s the 10 ideas list in action.
John wants to improve his productivity so he starts by buying a small notebook and writing “Productivity ideas” at the top of the page.
He comes up with the following:
- Find areas where I’m wasting time.
- Figure out what my strengths and weaknesses are.
- Look for ways to delegate or automate stuff that can be.
- Study different productivity methods and systems.
- Listen to motivational podcasts.
- Study the lives of people that I like and are known for their insane productivity to see what I can learn.
- Check-in with health (am I getting enough sleep, eating well to get the most out of my body and mind, exercising, etc.)
- Ask friends and family for advice.
- Join a group online that’s trying to improve their productivity.
- Experiment with different ways of working (does taking frequent breaks work? Or do I do better when I just sit down and hammer the job out?).
John changes the focus of his “10 ideas list” every day – sometimes it’s about work or personal projects that are important to him, other times he throws caution to the wind and writes 10 ideas on the weirdest and most wonderful topics he can think of.
Whenever he struggles to come up with 10 ideas about something he thinks of 20 of the most nonsensical rubbish ideas he can think of.
For example:
John is struggling with 10 ideas for “profitable” businesses – so he comes up with 20.
- Dropshipping
- E-store
- Digital marketing agency
- Freelance marketing
- Website design
- Private detective
- Wellness coach
- Motivation speaker for motivation speakers
- Freelance joke writer
- Nail salon and pedicure for men only
- Barbershop that is strictly for styling beards and moustaches
- Daycare for turtles and other nonstandard pets
- Daycare for teenagers
- Artificial holiday shop
- Dating app for clowns
- An emergency cleaning service app
- Rent an audience service for comedians
- A birthday planning consultant
- A service that texts your spouse for you while you’re at work
- A bar that only serves nonalcoholic drinks
As you can see, a lot of these ideas are unlikely to work out and some of them might need more details before they become fully fleshed out.
The key here is to give yourself permission to go all over the place and think of “good” ideas only.
The day after, John does his “10 ideas list” on the first idea he had for profitable businesses to identify the next steps.
He writes “Dropshipping” at the top of the page. He comes up with the following:
- Learn more about dropshipping
- Look at what sells well
- Look at what doesn’t sell well
- Figure out what kind of investment is needed to make it work
- Figure out if it’s practical enough for me to make it work
- Figure out if I even like the idea of dropshipping or not
- Look at potential products that I could sell as a drop shipper
- Think about goals and ambitions for a dropshipping business
- Look at risk vs reward
- Compare drop shipping to other options
Final Thoughts on the 10 Ideas List
The 10 ideas list is a clever way to train your brain for success, solutions, and creative ideas every day and doesn’t take long to do each day (usually less than 10 minutes or so).
You can make this exercise as fun as you like and you can very quickly start to see ideas that could potentially be fantastic solutions to your problems.
It worked for James Altucher and Leonardo Da Vinci and it can no doubt work for you.
And if you want more resources on how to be more successful, be sure to check out these blog posts:
- How to Overcome Your Fear of Success: 7 Steps
- 13 Famous Stories About Success & Overcoming Challenges
- Chinese Bamboo Tree Story: 5 Success Lessons to Learn
