Did you know? The human brain tosses up anywhere from 6,000 to 60,000 thoughts a day. And god bless, if you’re in the creative business, chances are you live closer to the upper end.
Thanks to Ideas.
…for your clients, your ex-client, your passion project, your chachi’s bakery.
Somewhere between your mid-sleep twitch and your shampoo rinse, it hits you.
The brilliant idea™
It’s weird. It’s exciting. It doesn’t let you do anything unless you get started with it.
So? You rub your hands, take a deep breath, and open your laptop…
And then…You do the worst thing possible.
You try to make it make sense.
Cram it into your brand tone, your content pillars, and the client’s “brief”. Chug some PowerPoint poison and try to fit it in clean slides and crisp bullet points. And just like that, your wild little idea… dies.
What could’ve been weird and wonderful is now… neat. On-brand. Algorithm-approved. Because let’s face it - we’ve become pros at neutering our own creativity.
Everything’s got a system now.
Content calendar, caption formulas, “5 hook styles that always work", brand bible.
Yes, systems give us speed. They give us clarity. They also give us 37 versions of the same carousel in beige. Creativity isn’t meant to feel this… sanitary.
The point is: that unhinged idea in the notes app, that you think doesn't "fit" yet? That’s the one you should be following.
Think of those ideas as Christopher Nolan movies - Oppenheimer, Tenet, Interstellar…do these make sense right in the beginning? No. If you give it enough space and time, does it unravel marvelously? Definelity yes.
There’s a beautiful Japanese concept called shoshin - beginner’s mind.
It invites you to approach your work without the weight of what you’ve already learned. To resist the urge to default. To let curiosity lead before control takes over.
Look, this is not about completely throwing away the structure. It's about keeping it in its place - as a support system, not a steering wheel.
True creativity is wild because it hasn’t been domesticated yet. And maybe it shouldn’t be... not until it's had the space to become what it needs to be. And sometimes, the best thing you can do for it…
is get the hell out of its way.
Because if your idea makes your brand system break into a cold sweat?
Congrats.
You’re onto something.