How does ideas happen? Or rather how can I make it happen?
The aim of the 99U Conference was to discuss idea execution. Often we focus attention on idea generation, we explore various creative methods to get ideas and improve upon ideas and solutions. But what happens when your ideas are brought to life. What does it feel like?
In the talk below, Jad Abumrad talks about how it felt to start the public radio program Radiolab that he hosts together with Robert Krulwich. This talk is one of the best that I have listened to about creativity for a long time (if you want to listen to the radio show, you can download them from iTunes).
The magic that is created at the intersections of science and storytelling is the core of the Radiolab. A post-it note with the question “What does it mean to be dolphin?” highlights the idea that the listener should not be told and lectured about dolphins rather they should be a dolphin and get inside the dolphin. This is the way that information should be explained.
The happening of ideas is a journey characterised by “gut churn” – an uncomfortable anxious feeling. A feeling that you should run away!
Jad says:
“You can take the worst feeling in the world, reframe it, and suddenly that feeling is the solution. We can run from that feeling, or take that feeling itself as the pointing arrow. “Okay, I feel like my stomach is going to explode, but maybe that just means I’m on the right track.”
Enjoy!
