Finding Inspiration in the Shower
It’s Monday morning and I am thinking about what I should write about today.
As I ponder the things happening in my life, I consider my options.
The new Twitter is coming. But I haven’t seen it on my account yet, so that will have to wait.
I’m a week into Project Fit, but I’m feeling kind of under the weather today.
I’ve been invited to speak in Asia. It’s exciting, but I don’t think there is much to say at this point.
And then it hits me… inspiration!
Where do your ideas come from? What turns on the light bulb that sends you down a path to creativity?
Personally, I believe in an extremely creative God who displays His handiwork every moment of every day.
We see it in the morning dew on the grass, the clouds floating by overhead, the breathtaking sunsets and the stars of the night sky.
If we are indeed made in His image, its no wonder that we have a creative spark as well!
I find that the creative spark is triggered at the most unusual times and when I least expect it.
I’ll be thinking about something and all of a sudden that something takes a sharp right turn and I land smack dab in the middle of inspiration. Whoa! Where did that come from?
The funny thing is where I am at when that inspiration strikes.
You are going to laugh at me. I don’t care because its the truth.
I have discovered my greatest ideas often come when I am in the bathroom.
Yes, you heard me correctly. In the can… the john… the head… the lo (or is it the loo?)
Now before you go joking that my ideas are cr@p (haha… I get it), please hear me out.
There’s something about bathroom activity which is so mundane that I believe it allows my mind to get busy.
The absolute best ideas come while I am in the shower.
Maybe its the trance-like state induced by water rhythmically tapping my head.
Perhaps it is the fact that I feel like I am in “idle.” Since standing in the shower is such a passive activity (oxymoron?) my mind is free to roam.
Or maybe its a sense of newness for the day, washing away the old and getting a “clean slate”, so to speak.
Whatever it is, the shower seems to be a place where creativity springs forth in… well.. showers!
I can’t tell you how many a-ha! moments I have had while cleaning up.
It’s interesting to track the genesis of ideas as well.
It is like all these seemingly disparate concepts floating about, and suddenly they fit together like a puzzle waiting to be solved.
That’s what happened with my reality show “The Next Internet Millionaire.”
I was thinking about an episode of The Apprentice I had recently watched. And a thought regarding Google’s $1.6 billion dollar purchase of YouTube came to mind. That thought was followed by remembering my joint venture partner Eric Holmlund had mentioned that he really wanted to get into shooting video.
BAM! I had the foundation for the show.
When my publisher was asking me what my next book would be, I really had no concept.
Once again, I was in the shower when I began thinking about what people really need to hear when it comes to doing business online.
That thought took me back to the basics of understanding the opportunity, focusing on your passion and building content-rich sites to monetize that passion.
My mind then drifted to the KaChing Button which I had manufactured and sent to associates as a holiday gift.
Of course, there was more to it. But those concepts fused together to form the basis for my newest book, KaChing: How to Run an Online Business that Pays and Pays.
By the way, you can download two chapters of KaChing for free at TheKaChingSecret.com. You’ll also enjoy the 30-second television commercial which will be running nationally starting soon!
Inspiration can hit at the strangest times.
Perhaps I should get a waterproof laptop and spend my day in the shower?
What are your thoughts? Where do you get your inspiration? How do you feel when you experience that “a-ha!” moment?
Please share your comments below. And if you like this article, feel free to tweet or share on Facebook using the buttons at the top of the entry.
Joel,
I often get my inspiration while going for a walk. I found the secret is also, indeed, passivity.
The secret I’ve found that works is to listen to something on my iPod that I’ve heard many times before and that I enjoy. Usually it’s “Phantom of the Opera” for me. The entire Original Cast Recording is somewhere close to 90 minutes.
Another thing I’ve been experimenting with is listening, instead of music, to interviews/audiobooks that I thoroughly enjoy. It doesn’t seem to matter if the topic of the interview/audio is relevant to whatever inspiration I’m trying to glean.
Sometimes, I’ll get inspiration at the actual computer, but I’ve found that to be a lot more rare.
There are no comments while I am writing this, I hate being the first comment. I feel like I am comment stalking.
Anyway I find I get most of my ideas or do lot of thinking while pushing the mower. I don’t have a huge yard, but it takes about 45 minutes to push it. Lately I think about contract negotiations while mowing. Couple times I had to stop the mower and write down some thoughts so I wouldn’t forget.
The shower, I would agree is another place. For me I am usually thinking about what I have going on that day and other projects. Speaking of bathrooms, kids thought it was funny that Thomas Crapper invented the toilet!
Every so often I’ll get an idea and wonder if the domain name is available. One day after coming out of a thoughtful shower I registered http://www.thinkingintheshower.com and eventually thinkinginthecar.com. I haven’t decided what to do with them; let me take a shower and maybe I’ll figure it out.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Tony Holowitz
781-641-0909
That’s actually a good state to be in when your always keeping your mind in a creative state, especially during your otherwise idle time. The time when I’m most creative is the time just as I’m drifting off to sleep.
Safe journey to Asia Joel.
Inspiration is everywhere and the creativity is on an outbound journey.
Thanks Joel good post again I shall read the KaChing literature.
I think that all these passive activities–showering, walking, running, or going out for a drive allow us to relax and stop the flow of our minds. We’ve got so much to think about and so much going on in our daily lives that we never stop to just LISTEN. When we stop talking and stop thinking so much, it allows God to speak. And this is the point when he can fill our heads with more great ideas and ventures. Best of luck to you Joel on your next endeavor!
Haha! It seems you are not the only one who get those “A-ha” moments in the shower. A good friend of mine is notorious for that to the point where he’ll write his thought on the mirror so he won’t forget it.
I have had a few a-ha moments in the shower but most of mine come from driving in the car with my music on. Since I come from a music working background, music always sparks a new thought or idea in mind. It’s like I move past the person singing the lyrics and the musical instruments composing the beat or melody and allow my mind to open up to creative ideas.
Safe journey to Asia Joel.
Inspiration is everywhere and the creativity is on an outbound journey.
Thanks Joel good post again I shall read the KaChing literature.
Totally in the shower.
Also as I review my “Growth Atlas,” a system I developed to keep me clear and focused on my dreams and goals.
I’ve found that there are two factors:
1# Relaxing my “hyper-mind” #I have ADD# by doing something low-thought, mundane, repetitive, etc.
2# Having triggers for great ideas, either by mentally reviewing what’s going on in my life #which happens naturally to many of us#, or by simply reviewing notes I’ve made from before #such as when I review my Growth Atlas#.
Just the other day, for example, as I was reviewing my Growth Atlas, I developed the “Magnometer” for my WifeMagnet business, a measure of how irresisitible a husband is to his wife.
Jemal Jelil
http://www.JustHusbands.com
http://www.WifeMagnet.com
P.S. I look forward to meeting you in Denver in a few days. Maybe we can exchange ideas while going for a really monotonous walk. π
Your not crazy Joel, I also get my best material during bathroom visits.
I think it has something to do with the fact that we take ourselves away from the chaos of day to day business and life. It’s a time to relax, unwind and release all of the pressure (No pun intended).
It feels great to take care of business and get inspired by it. π
Great post Joel !!
Joel – I’m with ya brother!
It definitely has something to do with hot water…
I call the whirl pool at the gym my “idea incubator” because so many ideas come together there.
As for the shower, I think it was Kelly Rudolph who told me about “Aqua Notes” a water proof note pad that you can stick on the wall in your shower – their slogan = “no more great ideas down the drain.”
They are also great for notes to you significant other…
At the 1:03 mark in the “White & Nerdy” video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9qYF9DZPdw – see if the scene makes sense to you.
It did to me, and it scared me!
God Bless!
~ Jeff Herring
I get most of my best ideas about products, personal websites and affiliate websites when I am on vacations. Speacially, I like to go to the caribbean or a caribbean cruise.
Specially, when I am at the jacuzzi or just floating in some pool with a frozen margarita in my hand, I get the most of my creative genius.
This happens because usually at holidays, I completely unplug of the work, so the “rational” mind simply shuts off and it allow a free fluid of “creativity” from the unconcious mind.
I highly reccomend that during your holidays, have as many lonely moments with yoursenlf as possible (this is key), and please stop thinking about your business (this is also key), so the best of you can really start talking.
Just my 2 cents.
i always finding inspiration in a calm and with almost no voice place. One of them is, off course… bathroom as what you say joel.
the quietness always makes my brain works fast to find new idea, new article to be posted in my newly created blog
I have some of my best conversations with God in the same room as your inspirations.
Maybe my creativity is cut off at that point, Who knows.
Hey, Joel, the shower is the best place for me.
WhitelistNow.com was an idea I had when I was in the shower. I was trying to figure out a problem we all have with list building when the solution came to me out of nowhere.
I jumped out of the shower and ran around the house… naked… looking for pen and paper to make a note of it. I think I’ll get the “Aqua Notes” water proof note pad so I don’t repeat that embarrassing episode! ;o)
Another place where I get great ideas is in bed. Always got my journal and pen next to me so I can jot down ideas.
I think these relaxing places, where we’re not bombarded with distractions and everyday “emergencies”, open us up more to new ideas.
The shower will always be my favorite and regular place for ideas and inspiration… plus I’m always squeeky clean!
All the best for Project Fit.
Mickey Wong
Founder & CEO
http://www.whitelistnow.com
I agree with you about how great ideas often are generated while taking a shower. But along with great ideas, I also seem to remember all the things I forgot to do the previous day. So instead of having mostly aha moments, I get a lot of oh cr@p ones.
Looking forward to meeting you in Denver this weekend!
Lonnie
Hi Joel – not much into showers – the bath does it for me.
Having said that, you can’t beat just sitting down and having a good old DOODLE π
A THOUGHT OF THOUGHT. (Doodling)
Iβm writing now, what have we here ?
Will this verse become more clear ?
I fumble through my mind for facts.
My mind is saying, just relax.
My pen is moving on its own
as I sit here all alone.
Did I say ALONE just then ?
My friends have started calling in.
I wonder why they always call
when Iβm sat here all alone ?
I donβt even know one name,
but they keep calling just the same.
They say they love to educate.
(Youβre thinking that theyβve come too late).
But a greater teacher you wonβt find,
than an uninvited, friendly mind.
When you find yourself alone,
with just a pen and paper.
Start a doodle, write some words,
itβs an educating caper.
Youβll find that friends will call on you
with educating wisdom.
You might not know them, this is true.
But your mind is of their KINGDOM.
P. Moring
Excerpt from “Visions Of The Future Past” P. Moring π
Joel,
You are right on the money!! (Ka-Ching!!)
I get my inspiration when I’m alone in a room or bathroom showering or you know what I mean the other activity. But Shower has best probability on giving me great ideas.
I call those ideas “One Shower Millionaire” ideas. Oopps! there go… I guess when I write things just starts popping up.
Great Post!
Regards,
-Janak
Co- Founder
http://www.PReasy.com
Now that you mention it, I do have a lot of thoughts in the bathroom no matter what I’m doing in there, however, my mind is always at work.
I frequently drift off while I am watching TV and have ideas and I have to jump out of my chair and write down on a Post It. If I am watching a movie, I have to go back in reverse since I just spaced out the last minute of the movie!
As a copywriter and creative for many years, I actually trust that good ideas come in two places. 1) After the shower in the morning, in front of the mirror. I do not know why, but can be sure it is not of joy looking at my face in the mirror. 2) At the threadmill with loud rock and roll in my ears. I think jogging is intensely boring, so I blow my mind away with music – and that triggers a flow of ideas and creativity.
Never told anybody about this before π Now you know.
Hi Joel,
You are not alone! I also have some of my best ideas when taking a shower in the morning. I’ve often thought of inventing a water-proof white board to write down my ideas.
I like your waterproof laptop too. Let me know when that product is available!
Keep thinkin’
Steve
This is so true. I also find my oddest idea’s right before I fall asleep at night.
Hey Joel,
My inspiration simply comes from just taking a nice two hour or break from the PC each day and just being out and about enjoying the scenery, especially now that I’ve taken up bycycling again.
It all works wonders on the old creative juices, and helps me build, build, build! π
Best Wishes,
Felix Torres, Founder/Director
Life and Health Insurance Information Center
http://www.LifeandHealthInsurance.co/
Joel, you are right on the money here. I too find that the shower is that bit of quiet time that allows the creative juices to flow.
Happens to me on my bike, Dude.
Hi Joel! It’s been an age old fact that great ideas do come up in the loo… though not so for me. I usually get my ideas when my legs are doing the work — walking. Interesting reflections and ideas often pop up when I walk home from work, window shop or simply enjoying my long walks in town or in parks.
At times ideas pop up in bed, when I am just about to fall asleep. I’m so glad for smartphones now, when jotting down an idea is made so much easier.
Hmmmmn, all interesting places to get some inspiration. The mall works for me, as a designer I’m more of a visual thinker, I think from what I see and malls have so many inspirational stuff going on it’s like going to an art museum or something. One of the downside of it is I can’t put it all into action until my wife gets tired of window shopping. Sometimes I’ve already forgotten the spark of idea I had. So now I’m taking down notes whenever we go out.
I get a lot of my inspiration as I’m driving into work—my day job.
One day, I want to make enough to quit that job, and go into my websites full time.
I am an I.T. Professional and enjoy taking the back roads to work and back home again, sometimes to just drive and think (no radio on).
But, something I have been wondering about….is it wrong to start picking out keywords from signs that you see along the way?! LOL
I catch myself doing it more and more!
Hi Joel,
Yes, for sure the shower works for me and most others here. In fact, anywhere or anytime you can take your mind off whatever is bugging you, you can let the subconscious mind do its thing. Amazing how solutions and other breakthroughs come when you relax and let go.
Did a lot of meditation in the past, and ashamed to say I am not finding enough time to do same these days. But meditation (and general contemplation) is also good for surfacing insights, even though these may interfere with the meditation process itself. π
Look forward to hearing more on your Project Fit. You are NOT going to give up, are you. At least it’s not a New Year’s resolution so no excuses.
Joel,
I love this post! Recently I’ve started to notice a lack of motivation in me, and I’ve wondered how can I inspire myself… And your tip and all the nice people who commented on this post really helped me! Thank you, peace & love
Joel, inspiration can hit you at any moment, i get inspired when i am away from the computer, usually when i am driving. And of coarse after i read your posts, i try to take a few minutes and reflect on what you said.
Now we know where the iFart idea came from π
I too think 24/7 and most of the time it is not creative, but the creative hat does come on in the bathroom for me too… odd that.
What a relief to know that I’m not the only one who has ‘those moments’ in the bathroom! They also tend to surface quite often while walking the dog, or out cycling.
Joel, I have really enjoyed your video of you out walking/running as you show that it is not easy getting started. You share your aches and pains willingly with us so that we also can feel comfortable knowing that it is a challenge to get started. All the best in your plan. Sitting in my garden is the place of inspiration for me.Having worked on a five year plan to achieve an “English Garden look” I feel relaxed and inspired whilst sitting there
Hey Joel,
Shower it is for me, plus when I am at the day spa having the works. The girls at the day spa, now have pen and paper ready and actually jot down my ideas, when they come. (I am usually not able to do this, with gunk on the face and bod plus foils in the hair etc – man what a sight – EEEK) They think I AM CRAZY! (they love me really haha we have fun)
On Project fit with you and going well. The Kinda feeling under the weather, can be a detox state the body goes through, when you cut out a lot of the “Junk” – drink heaps of water or green tea and keep it up!
I enjoyed reading everyones comments –
Love and Light and huge success to you and everyone who has commented.
Hi Joel
Yeah that bathroom I have often wondered what that thing has with it, I call it the throne of all questions answered.Why? because it is the one place for many where there is nothing going on except the bus you don’t need to think about and there you go the freelancing thoughts are coming in your mind is occupied with receiving and nothing else. Whenever wherever
and whatever one does without putting thought into anything what to do next all channels are open to receive and there it comes, if you are mowing lawn taking a shower or sitting on the throne.
Now lets think about this, if our politic leaders could grasp the concept what a word would we live in either one or the other……..??????
Great receiving to all off you
Juergen
I’m heading to the shower right now and steam up the mirror. A shower is sort of like the rain and how God washes away all the clutter in the air and on the plants and such and a fresh new scent fills the air.
I keep a pack of 3×5 cards next to my bed and in my purse. I’m always listening to audio cd’s and thinking…when I hear a poignant statement or am struck with a great thought, i write it down! I have a collection that has grown and I love sorting through them and reading them.
Hi Joel,
Iam one of your reader come from HK , really thanks for you sharing and sending article to me everyday.
==
pls also come to my blog and leave some comment :
24ε°ζθ¨Ίζ(ιθ¨Ί ι«η ι«εζ)Clinic 24 : http://clinic24.mysinablog.com
I do a lot of thinking in the shower as well. I think a lot of it has to do with the lack of distractions! The best place for me to brainstorm, however, is on the treadmill. Generally speaking, somewhere between 15 and 30 minutes in – I get all kinds of ideas for posts, articles, websites,etc.
That’s weird I always either have the best ideas when I’m in the shower also. Or just as I go to bed. I hate that because then I have to get out of bed and go to my office and write it down.
Glad you know Joel, you also get the good ideas in the shower I thought it was just me. LOL
Thanks for the great post.
Gina