"14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas"

14 Ways to Get Breakthrough Ideas is a manifesto created by Mitch Ditkoff and the work is featured on www.changethis.com.  Ditkoff's beliefs are that present day artists get make their ideas from convergence, and also that ideas are already made, its just a matter of putting them together to create your own.  After reading the article, I agree with the points that Ditkoff makes.  I am currently in a band, and this is my creative expression that I yield. My bandmates and I are always trying to think of creative ideas and we pursue some of these points without thinking of them, but on the contrary, we neglect some of the others as well.  Ditkoff makes all of these points seem valuable, I feel that if you follow these points you will see a positive increase in your creativity; whatever that may be. I believe that Ditkoff's fifth point- Fantasize- is the most important.  Before starting a project, you will need to brainstorm, but within the brainstorming you need to fantasize. If you use your imagination and create ideas off of your first idea, then you will find yourself not only creating what you imagined, but also altering the initial idea to make the project even better then you imagined. Ditkoff's second point - Immerse - is another favorite of mine in the article.  Once you have your initial idea, the only way to alter that idea is to immerse your inside of the entire project.  I understand that Ditkoff's point of "Taking A Break" is important, but on the same token, once the "creative juices" are flowing, there is no need to let up until the "juice" stops flowing.  Inside of a creative project, you need to indulge yourself inside and think about what direction you want to take to make the final draft exactly what you imagined. The third most important point Ditkoff makes is to "Make Connections." In the creative business, connections are crucial.  Any type of connection could help you in numerous ways such as converging ideas or taking your creativity to the next level. You could have written the best song ever created in your basement, but if you have no connections how could you expect that song to leave your basement?  Making connections is not the only way to be successful, but being in a creative business means that everyone thinks there idea is the best and making connections will help you better your chances of succeeding and making a better final product.  At the end of point twelve -Looking For Happy Accidents- there are two questions regarding the point.  The point explains how bad ideas can sometimes turn into good ideas or influence you in different ways.  As I said that I am in a band, and my creativity fails me many times.  The times that I think a good idea is flowing, its ends up being a disaster.  When coming back to my idea sometime later, I have a new perspective which will lead to a different path than I had intended before.  I feel that any idea is a good idea in the creative business, but failing does not always mean giving up. In most cases my initial ideas seem broad or unorganized but turn out to be good idea in my opinion. If I still have trouble satisfying myself with the idea, I reach out to my bandmates and see what they can put on the table to help finish an idea.  I believe that collective intelligence is a very powerful thing and if pursued, your project will come out more complex from the different ideas and also you could complete it in a much faster time rather than on your own.  I encourage all of my viewers to read the article, especially if you are looking for help on your creativity.  I feel as if one abides by these 14 points, they will see a significant increase in their creativity.